Can I Really Be A Hero
by CrimsonxXxRabbit
Summary: Midoriya Izuku is a late bloomer when it comes to the manifestation of his quirk. When it manifests, it's not only a quirk that doesn't resemble his parents quirks at all, but a rare mutation called "ghoul-quirk." This quirk does have a source and many variations, but Midoriya was gifted with the unfortunate bad luck of getting the source quirk. Rest of summary is in chapter!
1. Chapter 1

Full Summary: Midoriya Izuku is a late bloomer when it comes to the manifestation of his quirk. When it manifests, it's not only a quirk that doesn't resemble his parents quirks at all, but a rare mutation called "ghoul-quirk." This quirk does have a source and many variations, but Midoriya was gifted with the unfortunate bad luck of getting the source quirk; one that doesn't show up for many generations in the whole world. Midoriya's dream is to become a hero when he grows up; How can he be a hero if he has to eat people in order to survive?

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 **Author's note:**

 **I am back! But I am sorry that I am starting another fan fiction when I have so many I should finish before starting this. But! I got the idea as I read so many other fan fictions where people gave our precious Deku amazing quirks, turned him into a villain, and everything in between! It was in the middle of the night when I got an idea to do a kind of crossover with the Tokyo Ghoul universe and bringing the aspects of the ghoul into Boku no Hero Academia and applied it to the story as a quirk. Then I found an amazing fan fiction titled "Yamikumo: The Black Rabbit" by Dire Kumori and fell in love with the story and literally died inside because I'm not the only one that wanted to mix the two stories together!**

 **I am doing things differently than Dire Kumori, though. I won't be bringing anybody from the TG verse, just the powers of the ghoul and applying it to the verse of BNHA as I have said before. Now, to explain about the quirk a bit before the story begins is that there will be a quirk called "ghoul" and there will be variations of said "ghoul" quirk. These are my notes I have made on the subject and hope they make sense to everyone.**

 _ **Notes: Ghoul quirk. Origin of this quirk is from the first generation of quirks but is not as rare as people believe. About 10% of all quirks around the world are the ghoul quirk. It is passed down from parents to offspring, but the source quirk for this randomly appears out of nowhere and they do not have to have parents with the ghoul quirk. Only 1 in every 900,000 people born get the source quirk for this one. All people with this quirk have enhanced strength, sense of smell, hearing is better, and different taste buds.**_

 _ **Source quirk for the ghoul quirk is that a person with this quirk is able to eat human food but cannot gain any nutritional value from anything eaten and if they eat too much human food in a given day their stomachs hurt, it will also make them weak and unable to regenerate their wounds fast enough. Their tolerance to eating human food does gradually go away until it makes them completely sick and unable to eat it. For Midoriya, though, it will happen almost instantaneously and unexpectedly, something that hasn't happened to one with this source quirk since the first one to appear. They also have everything the variations of this quirk has and can use ukaku, kokaku, rinkaku, and bikaku and both of their eyes turn black with red irises and spiderlike veins coming from the sides of their eyes. To survive they have to eat human flesh. Source quirk is rare.**_

 _ **Variation quirk: variations of this quirk revolve around the person being unable to eat human food at all and it makes them really weak and sick if they do eat it. They have both eyes turn black, and on rare occasions, one eye will turn black, and they can only use one of the four kagune (rinkaku, bikaku, ukaku, and kokaku). They have fast regeneration, but those with ukaku don't regenerate very fast and those with rinkaku heal faster than others.**_

 **On another note before I forget! I made a new character and he has a quirk that resembles being pulled form the Avatar Last Airbender and Korra series. His name is Konsei Shirosaki (first, last) and will have grown up and been friends with Bakugou and Midoriya so the three of them will be best friends. (Before I forget, Bakugou will be different towards Midoriya and not a complete ass but he still has an extremely foul mouth so it's another reason this fanfiction will be rated M besides the blood and gore from Midoriya's quirk.)**

 _ **Konsei wishes to be known by his first name and his physical appearances, etc.… are:**_

 _ **He's at the age of 14 and short for his age, being only 5'7" (using American measurements), only 139 pounds. His hair is a mix of white, red, black, and green and will look like streaks with black being the main color and is just long enough to cover the back of his neck and able to be pulled into a hair band when needed. His eyes are a mix like his hair in both of his eyes.**_

 _ **Quirk: Element manipulation that surrounds earth, air, fire, and water and is a Source quirk**_

 _ **Quirk Pros: ability to control earth, metal, fire, lightning, water, ice, blood, and air at will and is paired with a strong background in many forms of martial arts from around the world.**_

 _ **Quirk Cons: it drains energy fast, ice con is like Todoroki's, blood con makes him look like a villain and if he doesn't use fine control he can kill the person he's controlling. Time lapse of half a minute between element manipulations at first and shortens with more training. During the sports event, the time lapse is 10 seconds, compared to the half minute in the beginning of the story. In order to manipulate water he has to carry it with him or be near a body of water as small as a puddle or larger or when it's raining.**_

 _ **How quirk is used: martial arts, each style using a different kind. His ice quirk works differently from Todoroki's ice quirk and works with his water power. He also doesn't have his quirk split like Todoroki and can use his whole body to control any element.**_

 _ **Appearance: no physical changes besides hair and eyes, looks lanky but is quite tone and athletic, always looks tired—like Shinsou.**_

 _ **Personality: Quiet like Todoroki, sometimes explosive like Bakugou if provoked, and has the same desire to become a hero like Midoriya.**_

 **Please, ignore my grammar and what not. I suck and didn't edit anything before posting because I want to try and upload a new chapter a week. In reality, I'm wanting to do at least three chapters before the end of November because I am participating in National Novel Writing Month and I've struggled until now to get just over 10,000 words instead of the 50,000 I normally have by now.**

 **But! Since I am back I will be giving you guys everything I can in this story and go as far as I can with what knowledge we have of the BNHA that has so far been made. I am basing a lot of what I'm writing off of what's already either animated or in manga form so I will let you guys know when I am coming close to having to put the brakes on this for a while until we get more content. I really want to continue this story to the very end, but I don't have the heart to break too far from what's already created. Just like I don't have the heart to make our precious Deku an evil person… unlike what my brain wants to read half the time.**

 **And I didn't mention earlier, but I know I'm revealing a lot of information in the beginning with this author's note, but don't fret. I plan on throwing in many, many surprises along the way. Especially with the chapters that don't follow the anime or manga. So please don't feel overwhelmed with the large amount of information I just gave.**

 **Now, let's get on with the story and I hope you guys enjoy it, even though I will be leaving many… MANY mistakes in what I publish to you guys—it breaks my heart to do so but I wanna put something out there after not doing anything fanfiction for so long—so, without further ado, here's my story!**

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Chapter 1; Rare Quirk Midoriya

Midoriya sighed as he trailed behind Bakugou and Konsei, his green eyes gazing at the ground as they walked towards the park before going home. He actually wanted to go home for once because he was starting to feel left out. Everyone in his class got their quirks already; he was the last one that hasn't had his manifest yet. He wasn't the only one worried, his mother worried just as much or more so.

Bakugou got an explosion quirk where his hands secreted a special sweat containing nitroglycerin and Konsei could control the elements at will.

Midoriya wished he had a flashy, amazing quirk like his best friends, but his hopes were dwindling. And fast.

That was when he remembered he had a doctor's appointment after school and had to meet his mom at home before they went to the doctor's office.

"Hey guys, I gotta go home. I have a doctor's appainment to go to that I fogot about." Midoriya spoke up, just loud enough for his two friends to hear him.

"It's 'appointment' and 'forgot' you deku, but alright. Make sure you get home okay so you don't worry Auntie too much." Bakugou says when he and Konsei stop to turn and look at Midoriya.

"Is everything okay Midori?" Konsei asks, his head tilting a little as he spoke. Midoriya turned his head to keep from looking up at his two friends.

"Are you worried you won't get a quirk?" Bakugou scoffs when Midoriya nods. "Well don't! You're going to get a quirk and we're going to compete for number 1! Get it? Now get going so you're not late."

"Yes!" Midoriya said loudly, showing enthusiasm because Bakugou was, but when he runs past them and heads home, leaving their line of sight, his façade crumbles and he can't help but stop his running and cry. He doesn't want to go to the doctor just to hear him say he's quirkless. He's afraid that's what will happen.

What if that does happen? Would Bakugou and Konsei still be his friends? Will the bullying get worse, which was already bad when Bakugou and Konsei weren't around to save his scrawny, weak butt because he can't find it in himself to stand up against them.

Midoriya was so lost in his worried and thoughts that he was unaware that someone was trying to talk to him until a hand touched his shoulder, four fingers touching him and a pointer finger resisting the touch.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" The owner of the hand asked as Midoriya flinched away from the touch and turned to face the person talking to him. It was a boy a few years older than him, sickly pale and with long, disheveled hair a pale, sandy blonde like his skin. Lips cracked a bit from dehydration and slightly irritated.

"I… I'm afraid…" Midoriya says, the only words that he can force himself to say.

"Afraid of what?"

"Everywon in my class has their q-quirks… everywon but me." Midoriya cries, choking on sobs he's trying to hold back. He doesn't want to cry in front of this stranger, but he can't help it.

"Have you been to see your doctor about it yet?" The older kid asked.

Midoriya can't speak so he shakes his head.

"Then stop crying. You don't know what the results are so there's no need for you to be crying. I take it you're on your way home so you can go see them?"

Another nod from Midoriya as he tries to get himself to stop crying.

"Then hurry home. Save the tears until after you find out the news if you're quirkless or not. There's no use in crying about it when you don't know what's going to happen. Chin up… if you're quirkless it may be easier." The kid sighs, muttering the end of his small rant, building Midoriya's interest in continuing the conversation even though the other boy doesn't want to.

"Why do you say that?" Midoriya asks, his crying having stopped by now and he couldn't help but look up at the boy with his red, puffy eyes in curiosity. "I wanna be a Pwo Hewo when I gwow up so I can't be qui… quirkwess."

"Tch, Pro Heroes are a joke kid, give yourself a livable goal to aim for." The boy hissed, turning to leave so he won't be annoyed by Midoriya any longer.

"But All Might is the best there is!" Midoriya cheered, green eyes sparkling as he talked about his favorite hero of all time. Rambling on about how great All Might was and how he could take on anybody no matter how strong they were or what the situation was. It got to the point that Midoriya was so absorbed in his rambling that he was unable to realize that the boy was getting more mad by the word that spilled from Midoriya's lips until the boy reared around and grabbed his school jacket, all five of the boy's fingers touching the fabric as it disintegrated under his touch, causing Midoriya to freeze and stop talking as he stared at the boy's hand and where his jacket used to be.

"If you don't shut up about All Might, the next thing I touch will be your face." The boy growled, letting Midoriya go and scamper away. Another 'tch' sound leaving his lips as he turned and went back to what he was doing before he met the boy. He had nowhere in particular to be, but he didn't want to stay in one place for too long.

On the way home, Midoriya ran all the way there, somehow losing to Bakugou who lives next door because he saw the explosion boy wave at him but dismissed it because of his fear the boy he met was following. Bakugou chalked it up to Midoriya's nerves still getting to him about the appointment and didn't realize something was wrong with Midoriya's jacket and went inside his own apartment.

When Midoriya got inside their small apartment and his mom asked what happened to his jacket, he lied and said he ran into a fire quirk user on accident when he was using his quirk and it singed his jacket. His mom didn't ask questions, seeing that Midoriya was nervous enough as it was to be going to the doctor's office. She, along with Midoriya, hoped that they wouldn't get any bad news. She didn't think Midoriya's heart and spirit could take it. She pursed her lips when Midoriya wasn't looking and they headed to the bullet train to get to the doctor's office.

*#*#*

There weren't that many tests like Midoriya had feared when they got to the doctor's office. They only did an x-ray of his feet and had him wait in the exam room while they developed them. It didn't take that long and the doctor showed up looking in awe at Midoriya's x-ray. It almost scared Midoriya's mom, Inko, but before she could ask what was wrong, the doctor put the x-ray on the light board and turned the light on, beginning his explanation.

"Your son is just a late bloomer." The doctor beamed, causing both Midoriya and his mom to stare at him. "You see, he clearly shows signs of having a quirk, but it just hasn't manifested just yet. It's not common now, but it's not rare for some children to show a little later than the rest. But I assure you that he will have a quirk within the next few months. There's nothing to worry about. Just come back to the office when it manifests and we'll do a full checkup and record what his quirk is along with what changes need to be made to accommodate him and such. With your quirk being a variation of telekinesis, to pull objects towards yourself, Midoriya-san, I'm sure there won't be many changes needed."

"R-R-Really?" Midoriya's mom sniffed, her eyes watering as she fought to hold back tears of joy. Her boy wasn't going to be quirkless! It was only a matter of time before his quirk showed up!

"Yes, really." The doctor confirmed, and Inko burst into tears as she clung to Midoriya, who was shocked into silence, but he understood what he was hearing; his quirk was just a bit late. He still had a chance to become a hero!

"Now, because he's a late bloomer with his quirk, it could mean that it's a lot more powerful than normal. There have been cases where late bloomers didn't get their quirks until something traumatic happens also. I advise that you don't go looking for trouble young man. A lot of those cases were life threatening. Most of those cases ended up with the late bloomed quirks died in the hospital shortly after that traumatic experience and their quirks awakening suddenly. It's a body changer, quirks are, and suddenly throwing the body from not using the quirk to using it at full power can do a lot of damage to you. And because your mother's quirk pulls objects towards herself, and your father… breathed fire I believe, it could mean you could either not have your father's quirk and have a stronger version of your mother's quirk, or you could have a mix and be able to draw elements towards yourself that can definitely kill you if you can't control it."

Midoriya listened as best as he could. He was on cloud nine. But he was able to pick up that because of being late on getting his quirk, he could die if it activated while he was hurt. He didn't want to die and he didn't want to hurt himself or others. His dream was to be a hero, after all. What kind of hero would he be if he either died or worse, caused pain to himself and other people because of his power?

"Thank you so much again doctor Shinsou." Midoriya's mom said, she still couldn't hold her joy in as she spoke and it sounded like she was choking on her tears. Midoriya was beaming as they left the doctor's office and headed home. He had to tell Bakugou the news!

And that's exactly what Midoriya did when they got home while his mom went to prepare dinner. They were going to have a party to celebrate the good news with Bakugou and his parents so Bakugou's mother and father were next door while the two boys stayed in Bakugou's bedroom and played games until dinner.

While the two played games, Midoriya couldn't stop talking about what the doctor told him. Reciting almost everything said because his mind was like a steel trap and remembered almost everything if he focused enough and didn't screw around. He wasn't interrupted until he mentioned when the doctor told him about the fact that activating his power from a life threatening experience could spell danger and death not only to him but those around him.

"Are you serious?" Bakugou asked as he paused their hero game to talk to Midoriya.

"Yeah, he was pecific about it too. And I don't wanna hurt enybody just to get my quirk so I'm gonna wait to let it come naturly." Midoriya nodded, earning a sigh from Bakugou and had to tilt his head to the side with a blink. What did he do wrong?

"It's 'specific', 'anybody', and 'naturally' you deku!" Bakugou groused. Being a smart kindergartener meant he knew how to read and pronounce his words correctly. Midoriya was smart too but sometimes he wondered if his friend's brain worked faster than his mouth could work half the time. "Slow down so you can pronounce your words correctly."

"I'll wok on it." Midoriya smirked, knowing he did that one on purpose and got up to run from Bakugou until the bedroom door opened. When they stopped chasing one another, they turned to the door to see that Konsei stood there with his arms crossed and leaning against the door frame.

"I got here late, but dinner is about ready, your mother's said." Konsei sighs. "And your mother wanted you to grab the keys and lock the door on your way out, but because I know you forget sometimes I grabbed them before walking into… whatever you two were doing."

"Let's go! I'm starving!" Bakugou shouts and rushes out of the apartment to head to Midoriya's that was next door. Konsei couldn't help but sigh again as he witnessed almost every word he said get ignored by the hot head.

"I'll lock the door, Konsei. Just make sure you have the right keys." Midoriya offered as he turned the game and television off and headed out with the other together.

"Bakugou's mother told me where they were so I'm sure I have the right ones… but she's just as forgetful as Bakagou sometimes so I'll go ask. Wait to lock the door until I say so." Konsei said when they got to the hallway, Midoriya still needing to lock the door. He nodded, knowing that if the wrong keys were grabbed, it wouldn't be fun. Bakugou's mother would either blow the door off or Bakugou himself would do it. He didn't want something like that happening, especially because it was in an apartment complex with grumpy neighbors and a jerk for a tenant.

"We're good Midori! You can lock the door and come on over!" Konsei called out from Midoriya's apartment doorway and he smiled, making sure it had locked before shutting the door and going home. When he walked into the house he was welcomed with the wonderful smell of katsudon and all of his other favorite dishes mingled in with everyone else's favorites too that revolved around the same ingredients.

When he got to the dining room, he was amazed at how much food was made in such a short amount of time they were back from the doctor's office. The scent was enough to make his mouth water because he, too, was so hungry he felt like he could eat everything on the table. He wanted to eat until he couldn't anymore. So when everyone gathered around the expanded dinning room table, sang a chorus of "itadakimasu" everyone dug into the food. Midoriya sat between Bakugou and Konsei at one short end of the table and that allowed the adults to sit on either side without problems. He helped himself to a bowl of rice and fixed his katsudon bowl after his mom cut up the pork cutlet for him.

All was going alright until he took his first bite. The taste wasn't what he remembered at all. It reminded him eating rotten meat, which he had done before by accident. And it felt like he had a piece of sandpaper covered carcass inside his mouth. Biting down on the piece of meat he remembered to be delicious felt like rubber as he slowly chewed. He couldn't handle it anymore and rushed off the bench, pushing Bakugou off in the process, and ran to the bathroom to spit the bite of food out of his mouth and into the toilet where he also emptied his void stomach in.

The first person to come check on him was Bakugou, right after was his mother. Both asking if he were alright but he just shook as he hovered over the toilet, the smell of food he found delicious mere minutes ago making him nauseous enough to get sick again and cry. He felt like he just ruined a good moment; a moment they should be celebrating, not him getting sick at the smell and taste of food!

"Hey deku, what's wrong?" Bakugou finally asked when Midoriya could get a clear breath and didn't have to choke for it, Inko having rushed off to get a cup of warm ginger water for Midoriya to drink to help settle his stomach, which he was prone to sometimes when he was too anxious or nervous.

"Ka… Kacchan… S-Something's w-wrong with me." Midoriya cried, his small hands gripping the toilet seat like his life depended on him.

"What do you mean? You were fine at my place."

"I know!" Midoriya yelled, turning to face Bakugou with black sclera and, irises and red spider web patterns spanning from his eyes. The sight made Bakugou back up until he was against the wall. He was so frustrated at the situation that he hadn't noticed that Bakugou backed away from him.

"At first the food smelled amazing, but then when I took a bite it was like I had I had eaten rotten meat and was the texture of old chewy candy. Then everything started smelling like garbage."

"Woah, slow down deku, what the hell are you talking about?" Bakugou snapped, stepping forward to land a hit on the top of Midoriya's head. The hit wasn't particularly hard, but it made Bakugou's fingers sting and Midoriya's head pound between his ears. "Besides, your eyes are fucking weird!"

"Watch your language you brat!" Bakugou's mother screeched from the dining room.

Midoriya nearly stopped his crying long enough to lower the lid on the toilet and climb up onto the sink to look in the mirror since he was too short. The second he saw his reflection he couldn't help but scream at it. It couldn't be him, right?

"Midoriya, here, drink this. It should help your stomach." His mom said as she walked back into the bathroom, a steaming cup of ginger water and her attention not on her son's face until they locked eyes. She couldn't help but drop the hot tea cup on the bathroom floor as her hands drew immediately to cover her mouth.

"Mitsuki! Get my phone and call Izu-chan's doctor please! The one we saw today, his name's Shinsou Hajime!" She called out to the dining room, only to be questioned as Bakugou's mother, Mitsuki, came rushing to the bathroom with Midoriya's mother's phone in hand and Konsei hot on her heels moments after the sound of breaking glass was heard.

While the two adults tried calming Midoriya and getting a hold of Shinsou, Konsei cleaned up the tea and broken glass with his quirk and Bakugou held a small tub for Konsei to put the mess in. The two of them worried about Midoriya as they cleared the hall when Bakugou and Midoriya's mother took him to his bedroom, Inko frantically talking to the doctor on the other end of the receiver. Voices becoming muffled once the bedroom door closed.

"I hope nothing bad is happening." Konsei said.

"You and me both…" Bakugou agreed. "But damn those eyes were freaky as fuck but so awesome weren't they?"

"Katsuki! Now is not the time to let your language get colorful!" Bakugou's mother ranted as she walked out of Midoriya's room. "Masaru, could you come help us calm Midoriya a bit? His doctor will be coming to make a house visit shortly and he suggests we calm him down as much as possible, though it'd be nice if we could have someone with a calming quirk."

"I have a friend a few blocks over that can help. I mean, she does have a quirk that can put people to sleep but it works best on boys, males in general. I'll call her and ask if she can stop by to help." Masaru calls out from the dining room. A chair scraping across the wooden floor as the man stands.

"That's perfect! Call her right away and get her here fast!" Mitsuki cheers before going back to Midoriya's room, only to be blasted out before the door could close.

"Mom!" Bakugou cries out, running down the hall to see what happened, Konsei hot on his heels. Before he could see if his mother was alright, though, he caught a glimpse of what looked like four blood red tails and a pair of wings in Midoriya's room. When getting a better look, both Bakugou and Konsei saw that Midoriya's shirt had torn off and he was the one sporting the wings and tails. Inko, still standing but had a small cut on her forehead, was still trying to calm Midoriya down.

"Hey deku!" Bakugou screamed. "Calm the fuck down! You freaking out is only hurting people! You need to get a hold of yourself! Is this what a hero does?"

Before Midoriya could yell back at Bakugou, a pink mist flowed into Midoriya's room and his mom rushed out before she could be caught in the new attack. To their surprise, the Rated R hero Midnight burst into the bedroom through the window just in time to catch Midoriya before he fell from the shelves on his walls, the wings and tails on Midoriya's back disappearing in a black and red mist. Just as Bakugou's father rushed to the doorway with a rotating fan and turned it on full blast before the pink mist could come all the way into the hallway and put everyone to sleep.

"Thank you so much for helping Midnight." Masaru said before placing the fan on the floor and picking up both Bakugou and Konsei before they went and did something stupid to try and help their friend before they knew the story. "And I hate to ask you of this but could you stay until his doctor comes?"

"He's on his way and should be here within the hour." Inko cried out, completely ignoring the cut on her forehead as Mitsuki slowly stood, a hand holding her head as it pound from colliding with the wall a few moments ago.

"I'll be glad to stay!" Midnight beamed. "I hate to see little kids hurt like this, especially when their quirk emerges. But miss…"

"Midoriya, Midoriya Inko. But please call me Inko." Inko cried when Masaru took Bakugou and Konsei to the living room and came back a moment later, though he should know that the boys wouldn't stay there and followed him back.

"Inko, I take it you're this lovely boy's mother?" Midnight asked, and her answer was in the form of a rapid nod. "Please, while I make sure your son stays safe, please get the cut on your forehead taken care of. It's still bleeding."

"Oh, you're right…" Inko nodded, voice low and absent minded as she now became fully aware of the pain in her forehead above her right eye. The cut was in her eyebrow, easy to hide if it scarred, but because it was there it continued to bleed profusely. It wasn't until Mitsuki finally got her bearings and helped Inko to the bathroom to clean up.

"Alright, may I ask what Inko's quirk is? It'll help identify what it is to make the doctor's work easier." Midnight asked as she sat on the side of Midoriya's bed after laying him down and getting him comfortable.

"I… Inko's quirk is nothing like this. It's a variation of telekinesis and she can pull small objects towards herself." Masaru answered, a hand resting on his chin as he thought. "His father, although he's been gone for a long time from an accident, could only breathe fire. In reality, that's what his quirk should be a mix of, but this… this is nothing like that at all."

"Then… he must have one of those rare source quirks then… one that doesn't come from the parents…" Midnight muttered to herself as she watched Midoriya sleep on his bed, face covered in now dry tears but at least he looked a little peaceful, for now. "That has to be it, nothing as powerful as a source quirk has showed up in Japan in the last generation."

"You mean… deku could have more than one kind of power?" Bakugou asked, startling Midnight and Masaru because they didn't realize he and Konsei came back to the bedroom. "If so then that's awesome!"

"I don't know… considering he threw up his dinner after one bite… I don't think he'll like his quirk at all." Konsei sighed as he leaned against the door frame. "I doubt he'll be going back to school for a while either."

"Are you kids four or fourteen?" Midnight huffed. "Using such big words and all."

"The three of us are the top of our class, with me at the very top, Konsei next and then deku." Bakugou smiled.

"Is Deku really this child's name?" Midnight asked as she looked at Masaru, right eye twitching because she found the name an insult.

"No, it's Izuku, but Katsuki here gave it to him because Izuku isn't good at a lot of things, but he apparently doesn't mind it being a nickname since he's never told my son to stop calling him that." Masaru sighs as he put his hand on top of his sons head. "Hey, why don't you two go finish your dinner and help clean up while we wait for the doctor."

"I… lost my appetite." Konsei muttered.

"I'm not hungry either. We'll go put the food away for Auntie and clean the dishes." Bakugou agreed and rushed to the dining room and kitchen with Konsei in tow. They wanted to get everything cleaned up so Midoriya's mom didn't have to do it herself. She was already stressed and they believed she didn't need anymore.

*#*#*

It didn't take much longer for Doctor Shinsou to leave his office and run to the train station as fast as his body would allow, cancelling all his appointments he had left for the day because this, he felt, was far more important than anything else he had to deal with.

From what he heard on the phone, not only did young Midoriya's mother sound hysterical, Izuku himself was causing a large mess of everything. And from what he heard his mother describe, black sclera, red irises, wings and tails as dark red as blood, he didn't like the sound of any of it. If what she said was true, then it'd be his first time seeing a source quirk this bad. He's seen at least three source quirks since he was born; a fire source quirk, young Konsei's Element Manipulation quirk is a source quirk, and then there's a friend of his having a source quirk for strength.

On the train, he did research to see if he could connect what these changes were to a certain quirk and what he found made his stomach churn. If what he read was right, then young Izuku would _never_ have the childhood, teen years, or adult years, as he should. And before the train stopped, he called a friend of his that worked in the government to see if they could meet him at the Midoriya house. Doctor Shinsou couldn't begin to tell his friend how grateful he was to hear that they'd take the time to leave right away and head over, especially after what they heard about the young boy's symptoms and the possibility that he could be a source quirk. They both prayed that it wasn't the case, seeing as source quirks were rare and hunted for on the black market. Konsei himself had to register his quirk as just plain element manipulation for the public, but for the government records, it stated him as a source quirk. They'd have to do the same with Izuku, but the price of his quirk would make it extremely hard for him to believe in himself and his dreams, especially when he heard from both the boy and the mother how much Izuku wanted to be a hero. This would destroy that boy's hopes and dreams the moment he learns the truth.

The second the doors opened on the train, he rushed off and ran straight to the Midoriya home, a set of apartments that sat just a mile from the train station. By the time he ran up the stairs and stopped at the apartment door, he was out of breath and gasping for air when the door opened and young Bakugou stood there, blinking at him until Masaru ran to the door to see who it was.

"Oh, Hajime! Thank Gods you're here! Izuku had woken up earlier and was going out of control again, but we managed to get him back to sleep again with the help of Midnight." Masaru said as he grabbed Bakugou and gently pulled him out of the way.

"Oh! You're Doctor Tired aren't you?" Bakugou beamed as he pointed at the tired, still gasping man as he straightened and walked into the apartment and took his shoes off.

"Doctor Tired?..." Doctor Shinsou sighed. "Really Katsuki?"

"But—" Bakugou started saying before his dad shut him up.

"Why don't you and Konsei head on next door. We'll be home shortly okay Katsuki? Masaru offers.

"I do think that'd be best." Konsei agreed. "I still have the keys Bakugou-san." He added and then dragged Bakugou home to his apartment.

Doctor Shinsou couldn't help but sigh again when the door to the Bakugou residence slammed shut, effectively cutting off Bakugou's endless rant and cursing to stay with Izuku longer. Without another word between the two adults, Masaru led Shinsou to Izuku's bedroom, but before they could get there, there was another knock on the door and Masaru rushed to answer it, wondering if the boys needed something and thought the door may be locked.

"Do you need something bo—" Masaru started saying as he opened the door, but his words stopped when he saw, instead, an elderly man wearing a light brown trench coat and a matching hat.

"I believe this is the Midoriya residence?" The man asked, the sound of the voice reaching Shinsou before he went into the bedroom and had him joining Masaru at the door.

"Yoshimura-san! Thank you so much for coming all this way. But, I didn't think I'd see you so soon. I just got here myself." Shinsou beamed and the two men allowed the stranger to enter. Closing the door behind him and allowing him time to take his shoes off.

"Yoshi… Yoshimura from the government!?" Masaru gasped when he recognized the name, eyes wide as he watched the man step up from the entrance and hand Shinsou his coat and hat.

"Yes, that is me." Yoshimura chuckled. "Shinsou and I have a history and he loves having coffee with me when he's in the city and not working. Besides, I think I may be of some help in aiding the name of this child's quirk. Are you family or friends of the family?"

"I… I and my wife are Izuku's mother's friend. His dad passed away just before he was born and he's friends with my son Katsuki. We also live next door." Masaru explained.

"Is everyone here that witnessed everything that happened?" Yoshimura asked as Shinsou made his way to Izuku's bedroom after hanging the coat and hat. "It's important for everyone to be here when I explain what's going on after we have confirmed our suspicions."

"Well, my son and their friend, Konsei, are back at our apartment because they tend to get in the way. More so my son than Konsei, and he has a loud, foul mouth for his age so I told them to go to our place for the time being." Masaru answered.

"Alright, well they can stay there until they need to come back." Yoshimura smiled. "Before we go back to the bedroom where the child is, could you tell me everything that happened, in your own words?"

"I could, but my son saw more than any of us, except for his mother… who's back there and trying to keep herself from falling apart, and my wife who's with her." Masaru said, his shoulders sagging a bit.

"Then it seems your son may need to come over sooner. I kind of want to give young Izuku's mother a break before I go back there and hear what Shinsou has to say about his examination he's doing."

"Alright, I'll be right back and will bring both boys over. I don't want to leave one of them alone if you know what I mean." Masaru nodded with a slight shake of his hands.

"I'm a patient man…"

"Oh, how rude of me! I'm Bakugou, Bakugou Masaru. My wife, Bakugou Mitsuki, is with Izuku's mother."

"You're fine Bakugou-san." Yoshimura waved him off with a small lift of his lips before the other man bowed and left to get the two boys from next door.

It wasn't long before the door to the apartment opened up again and Yoshimura had moved to sit on the couch in the living room where he could talk to the two boys where they would be most comfortable. The sounds of a cursing child rang in his ears and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sound. His dad did say he had a foul mouth here and there. Must have gotten it from his mother, Yoshimura assumed.

"This way boys, this nice man, Yoshimura-san, is wanting to talk to you about young Izuku before he goes back to see him." Masaru says as he guided the boys into the living room after a quick search to see where he had gone.

"Why do we have to talk to this stranger?" Katsuki whined as his sandy blonde hair was the first thing Yoshimura noticed. The same shade as his father. "I wanna see deku damn it."

"Watch that foul mouth of yours now! God, you and your mother are two peas in the same pod, I swear!" Masaru hissed. "Yoshimura-san is here to help Izuku and needs to know what you guys saw instead of it coming from Doctor Shinsou."

"Fine." Katsuki pouted. "Then I get to see deku damn it! I don't like how I'm not there to help him!"

"You care for Izuku a lot, don't you young man?" Yoshimura asked, finally speaking to get Katuki's attention.

"Yes! Because if I'm not there to protect him, he's useless and will get hurt all the time." Katsuki admitted shamelessly, making Yoshimura chuckle at the kid's bold personality.

"Shut up Bakugou, you're making a fool of not only yourself but you're also making fun of Izuku when you keep calling him a deku." Konsei said when Katsuki finally got on his nerves. "Just tell him what you saw and then we can probably see Izuku."

"You must be Konsei, right?" Yoshimura asked as he put his attention on the now quiet boy who looked ready to go to bed even though it was only five in the evening.

"Yes sir."

"How long have all you three been friends?"

"For Bakugou and Izuku they've known each other longer. I didn't meet them until school started."

"May I ask what the two of your quirks are?"

"Mine's explosion!" Katsuki beamed, hands raised as he caused tiny explosions from the palms of his hands happily.

"I can manipulate the elements, but mine's special because it's a source quirk." Konsei answered with a deadpanned expression. "I'm telling you this because I believe I can trust you not to tell anybody I'm a source quirk… you look like you work in the government."

"Very observant of you young Konsei. But I used to work in the government. I established a lot of things while I was in there, but now I just run a coffee shop and a donation center inside the city." Yoshimura smiled. "And yes, I'll keep your source quirk a secret."

"Okay! Where do you want us to start our story?" Katsuki asked, his eyes staring straight at Yoshimura as the words left his mouth.

"I'd like to know how his entire day was, if you don't mind." Yoshimura said, his smile still pulling at the corners of his lips as he sat and listened to the two boys tell him everything. From how they met on the way to school, spent the day learning the rules of their quirks along with all the necessary lessons of the day. How they teased Izuku just a tad about his quirk not manifesting when theirs did and how Katsuki accidentally caused a "quirkless deku" rumor. Then on how they split up from the park since Izuku said he had to see Doctor Shinsou shortly after school and how they didn't hear from him until the boy got home, beaming excitedly about how he wasn't going to be quirkless. They played a few games before they were called over for dinner from the Bakugou residence and how everything went downhill from there. Katsuki didn't miss the chance that Izuku pushed him off the bench they were sitting on to get to the bathroom after his first and only bite of katsudon that his mother made especially for him and how Izuku told him what it felt like and tasted inside his mouth and how the aroma from the food was making him nauseous. Katsuki was the only one of the two boys to see the black eyes with red irises and he described them as "fucking freaky but cool as fuck," earning a slap on the back of his head from his father. Then he went on to explain what he saw in the bedroom, the wings and tails that looked like blood flowing from his body and how "fucking awesome" they were, before the Rated R hero Midnight swooped in and put Izuku to sleep so he could calm down.

At that, Yoshimura's smile faded, and both boys noticed, causing them to become quiet. The worry didn't slip from the boys either.

"Is something wrong Yoshimura-san?" Konsei asked first.

"Nothing is wrong, but… may I ask what Izuku's mother's quirk is, and his deceased father's quirk?" He asked.

"His father could breathe fire for a short period of time, and his mother has a telekinesis variation and can pull small objects towards herself." Masaru answered.

"Then… it is as we feared…" Yoshimura sighed as he stood just as Doctor Shinsou walked in from the bedroom down the hall.

"Yoshimura-san…" He said, and all he could bring himself to do was nod.

"Alright, bring everyone but young Izuku to the living room so we both can explain the situation." Yoshimura said, and Doctor Shinsou nodded once more, unable to trust the sound of his voice if he spoke, and went to pull the two mothers and Midnight from the bedroom.

"What's wrong Yoshimura-san?" Masaru asked, the two boys too scared to ask, fearing that something horrible was wrong with their best friend even though they want to know now instead of later.

"It's nothing too serious, but young Izuku will not be able to live a normal life as of today." Yoshimura sighed, turning to walk to the window that looked out to the parking lot half full of cars. It pained him to think about what he was going to say, but he had to.

"Yoshimura-san!" Midnight said loudly as the rest of the adults walked into the living room. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Yes, it's been a while Midnight. You should stop by the coffee shop sometime so we can catch up." He said as he continued to look out the window, his heart breaking as the seconds passed before he turned around and faced a woman with sandy blonde hair and another with a mix of black and green hair.

"I'm Izuku's mother." Inko spoke up as she sat down on the couch. Her nerves having nearly shot because of the recent stress.

"Midoriya-san." Yoshimura said as he bowed.

"Please, call me Inko."

"Then Inko-san… what I have to say may not be great news, but it can answer some of the questions I believe are swimming about inside all of your heads right now. But first, my name's Yoshimura and I used to work for the government. While I worked there, I established a settlement plan with the country to allow donation sites, as well as distribution sites, of certain material that is offered by those willing to donate. This material is then sent off in unmarked, refrigerated packages to the homes of many people with this strange quirk. It took five years for it to be successful, another three for it to be established around the world. I even have centers with the sole purpose of teaching those with this quirk how to use it and how to accept what is.

"In addition to this material being sent, is also a lifetime supply of coffee to the families with this quirk, because water and coffee are the only normal substances we can ingest without getting sick."

"What are you trying to say?" Inko asked, though deep inside her heart she dreaded the words that escaped both her mouth and Yoshimura's. She almost didn't want to hear an answer from him.

"What I'm saying, Inko-san, is that your son has the quirk called 'ghoul' and that because you and your husband have different quirks—quite different from what I've been told—he's a source quirk for 'ghoul' and has many abilities and downsides as of now." He answered, his eyes opening to reveal black sclera and red irises. The red spider veins on the sides of his eyes aren't as noticeable as Izuku's, but it was because of the complexion and age Yoshimura was compared to Izuku.

"Your son, as of now, cannot eat normal food because it makes him sick. Just the smell makes him ill if I heard young Bakugou-kun tell me right. And to explain further, the only substance young Izuku is able to ingest so he doesn't starve himself, is human flesh. The ghoul quirk itself seems like a curse because of what is needed to survive. But with young Izuku's source quirk, he shouldn't have jumped from eating normal food earlier in the day and the next be unable to stomach it. It should have happened gradually.

"Because this happened the way it did, it means that your son's source quirk is as strong as it was when it first appeared seven generations ago. I assure you, even though this quirk seems to be the epitome of evil, and people will see him as nothing more than a villain because of what he has to do to live, it is not all bad. I myself worked to make it easier for people with this quirk to live so they can help people. I run a coffee shop called Anteiku so people with or without this quirk can interact without fear. I run a distribution center from the same building for those with this quirk to pick what they need up in person if they so wish to. I even have several that work part time with Anteiku that have full time jobs as teachers and underground heroes.

"Yes, some with this quirk have either starved themselves because they can't accept their quirk, but it leads to madness when a ghoul starves themselves. It causes massacres because they're blind to hunger. Others have accepted that the only thing for them is to become a villain and chose the wrong path, and suffer because of it. But I assure you, just because your quirk looks to be the essence of evil, doesn't mean the person with the quirk is. It matters how you use your quirk that makes you the hero, the teacher, a part of society, and what makes you the villain.

"I believe young Izuku will be a tremendous hero from what I've been able to pick up from young Bakugou-kun and Konsei-kun. They speak so highly and fond of the young man that I have nothing to fear in his future." Yoshimura said, smiling at the last of his words and dropping the room into complete silence. The only thing that can be heard is the breath that everyone in the room is holding and the tears that Inko is shedding.

"You mean to say, my son…"

"Yes, Inko-san. But like I said, there's nothing for you to worry about as long as you allow your son to be hospitalized for the next few days to get some much needed exams and tests to see if he is indeed a source quirk for ghoul and to sign up for the registration to get the packages mailed once a week. I must tell you, though, that young Izuku must eat his bodyweight of human flesh a month, so the packages, as he gets older, will grow in size or come more frequently. He'll need yearly checkups to make sure he's healthy and eating."

"Does this mean deku will be called a freak when he goes back to school?" Katsuki asked, the only one brave enough to ask such a question that needed to be asked.

"Possibly, but for the rest of his elementary years he may need to attend one of the centers I mentioned so he can learn to control his new quirk and not hurt anybody or himself. And if you two are his friends, there's nothing any of you should worry about. Besides, the teacher at the center I recommend young Izuku to attend is a sweetheart at heart but understanding when it comes to the fear of having this quirk. He'll take young Izuku down the right path and they may even become friends along the way." Yoshimura said.

"Don't worry about that! I'll protect deku with everything I have! If anybody wants to bully him they'll have to deal with me!" Katsuki declared, his palms smoking and letting off tiny explosions.

"I won't let anybody harm a hair on his head." Konsei hissed.

"And we'll be there to help young Izuku as much as possible!" Mitsuki added. "It's not his fault that he got this quirk! He shouldn't suffer because of something he cannot control!"

"And here I thought I had to worry about you two." Masaru snickered.

"How will my son be registered?" Inko asked. "I mean… I know Konsei's quirk is registered as what it is, minus the source part… so will my son's be the same?"

"Your son will have everything marked underneath his quirk; source quirk: ghoul. It will look suspicious to anybody looking at his registry and see that he's the only one in the family to have this quirk if it's listed as just 'ghoul'. It may seem harsh, and make him a tad bit a target for bullying and discrimination, but it will not last long. Most people that would do this are children and about five percent of Japan itself is filled with people that have the ghoul quirk."

"Why the coffee though?" Masaru asked.

"No one's been able to come up with a logical explanation for the reason why ghouls can drink coffee, but we accept it and move on. The only thing to worry about is how young Izuku will take this himself. Hence why I suggest he get the tests done and to be transferred to this center I'll give you the contacts for in a little while."

"I knew that kid was going to have a strong quirk…" Midnight finally muttered. "And I am sorry for cutting my visit short, but I have to go. I'm needed on the other side of town for hero business."

"I thank you for helping Midnight. Thank you so much." Inko said.

"No need to thank, it's been a pleasure helping. Here's my contacts if you need me to help again." Midnight smiled before running out of the apartment and rushing to where she's needed.

"I'm going to go have a talk with young Izuku, if you don't mind Inko-san. I'd like to explain everything to him before he's bombarded with his two friends and so he can get a more clear picture as to what's going on. I'd also like to ask him if anything happened on his way home between here and the park. Like what Shinsou has most likely mentioned in great detail; to unlock a belated quirk takes trauma of some sort. I'm wondering if he got into some sort of trouble that he failed to mention to either of you. Not being his fault but because he's a four year old that was told he wasn't quirkless."

"I don't mind… but he may still be asleep." Inko nodded. "I can make you some coffee if you'd like. Or would you like a glass of water?"

"Coffee sounds nice, thank you. I'll let you know when I'm done talking with young Izuku before I take my leave." Yoshimura nodded before Inko got up and headed for the kitchen. He could tell that the woman was going to have a hard time accepting that her son now ate people to survive, but he also could tell that she will accept it given due time. His only worry was the boy as he was taken to Izuku's room by the lead of both Konsei and Katsuki.

* * *

 **End Note:**

 **I know I said I wasn't going to use anybody from the Tokyo Ghoul world but I decided, as I was writing this, that I needed the people from there. It will look like a crossover, but it's not a true crossover. The characters will be here and be either ghoul or human, but I'm only bringing Yoshimura and a few others that are main characters from the TG world. They will have quirks and such, hence the mention that this isn't a true crossover.**

 **Please tell me what you think and please ignore anything that's repeated if it is. My eyes hurt and I was thinking about trying to edit this before posting but because it's National Novel Writing Month, I figured making sure everything was spelled was more important than removing repeats since I need the word count.**

 **Review, follow, favorite, and whatnot if you enjoyed! I'll try to update as often as I can!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Death of Snipers: To answer your question about Izuku's kagune appearances, he'll be able to use whatever forms he wants, but he has preferences and they'll be as... I think... mentioned in the beginning of the last chapter but if you didn't see it I'll be glad to mention it again! He'll have an ukaku like Yomo's (black wings), a koukaku like Hinami's, a rinkaku like Kaneki's, and a bikaku like Nishio. As for the OFA-which gave me a brain fart because for the life of me I didn't realize you were talking about One for All-I decided to hold a poll because I'm unsure as to whom I'll have as its successor; Izuku or the original person they chose in the manga, Mirio (sorry if that's a spoiler).**

 **As for everyone else that commented, and didn't leave a specific question, I'm glad you guys find my story interesting and that you like it! I hope I don't disappoint any of you as you continue to read this story.**

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 **Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back and with another update!**

 **In the previous chapter, we all learned Izuku's new quirk and the restrictions, what he can and cannot do or have, and other stuff that will change in our young bunny's life. I've decided that I will be, after all, introducing new characters from the Tokyo Ghoul world, and I will be describing them, and matching their personalities, as best as I can! If I get anything wrong, let me know!**

 **Also, please don't flame me for shitty third-person and how I keep switching between active and passive voice… I suck at that. I had decided this story needed to be in third-person because I felt it would fit better instead of my normal first-person writing habits. I am, though, welcome to any and all suggestions on what I can do to make my third-person writing better!**

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Chapter 2: Tears and Sorrow and House Arrest

From the moment he learned what his quirk was, and what it did to him and his body, Izuku no longer wanted a quirk. He no longer wanted to be a hero. It's been half a year since he learned the truth and quite frankly, he didn't want to exist anymore.

Even though he liked his new teachers and fellow students that held the same quirk as he did, he felt like he was nothing but a burden. He especially hated when it came to eating; alone or surrounded by the people eating the very same thing he was. It disgusted him to the point that he refused to eat. It wouldn't last long because the second his complexion looked sickly or anything of the sort, his teachers would be on him, alone in a room, until he ate something. Then would remind him of the consequences of starving himself over and over again.

He learned how to control the change in his eyes, how to control his other gifts of the rinkaku, kokaku, ukaku, and bikaku, under his new teachers. A teacher per ability, because he was special; a source quirk, and needed extra tutelage on how each one worked and how they affected his body.

Izuku learned quickly, in the short amount of time he was at his new school, the teachers he liked, the one he despised with his entire being, and one he became terrified of because of her impatience. Touka-sensei was nice, but sometimes she had a short fuse that'd scare him, especially when she let both of her eyes turn black. Tsukiyama-sensei literally scared the absolute shit out of him, to the point that he didn't want to be left alone with him during his extra lessons he had with the blue haired creep. It was those lessons he was grateful for having Touka-sensei stay with him—apparently she didn't like the guy either.

His favorite teacher, by far, is Kaneki-sensei. The man, though young, showed great amount of restraint, patience, and made learning fun, yet this was also the teacher that would hound him for starving himself so sometimes he was scary too, but in a good way. The one thing that Izuku found particularly weird about this teacher was his white hair, and asked frequently if it was that color his entire life. But he never got an answer, just a sad look before lessons continued, the question ignored.

It was between terms, the kids now age seven, when Izuku and his friends went to the park they used to frequent as children. Hide and seek was the game this time to give heroes and villains a rest—because Izuku would either play the villain or nothing at all, given how he still felt like he'd never be a hero because of his quirk, even though his heart still wanted to be one.

Bakugou was it and had to count to twenty while Izuku and Konsei hid. Konsei choosing to hide up in a tree and Izuku in an alley behind some trash cans. Izuku had started to believe he hid too well when Konsei was found first, and that both of them were now searching high and low for him.

However, it was neither Bakugou or Konsei that found him.

"You're that kid… been a few years hasn't it?" Someone spoke up behind Izuku, causing the small boy to flinch and turn around to see a distantly familiar mop of bluish, silver hair and cracked lips. Unfortunately, Izuku couldn't remember what happened with this person from when he was four.

"Do I know you?" Izuku asked, blinking up at the man as he talked.

"You should, I'm the one that told you to stop worrying whether or not you had a quirk because you couldn't stop crying." He spat. "You were such a cry baby too."

"Oh, that's right!" Izuku beamed. "I recognize your scent now."

"Huh?"

"Oh… that's… part of my quirk…" Izuku answered, his voice lowering as his gaze went from the man's soft, yet irritated eyes to the ground.

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about being quirkless."

"I wish I was quirkless…" Izuku sniffed as the man sat on the ground next to him. "Being quirkless is better than having what I ended up with."

"What is your quirk then? I mean, there can't be anything worse than what I have… I can't touch anything with all five of my fingers without it crumbling away on me."

Before Izuku could speak up, his stomach rumbled loudly. Reminding him that he had not only skipped lunch, but every meal since break started two weeks ago. This would be the first time since he got the nerve to lie about eating to his mom and hiding the fact that the meals he was supposed to have eaten in the trash or down the toilet when his mom ran dish water to clean dishes as he emptied his stomach of everything before it could digest.

A blush spread across Izuku's face as he curled in on himself, his thoughts elsewhere so he wasn't aware that the man had pulled out a candy bar from his pocket and offered it to him until the guy cleared his throat.

"I know it's not much, but I know you're not homeless from the look of your clothes. It can be something to hold you over until you get home and eat lunch."

"I… I can't, but thanks for the offer." Izuku muttered, his stomach grumbling in protest.

"Why? Are you allergic or something?"

"I… I have a strict diet… ever since my quirk manifested…" Izuku sighed. "Everything makes me sick."

"Oh! So it's one of those quirks where you have to eat a certain type of food. I get it." The man nodded and put the chocolate back in his pocket. "Are you here with friends, or are you here alone?"

"I'm here with two of my friends, and we're playing hide and seek but I'm always the last one found. I hide too well."

"Oh? I figured you'd be playing heroes and villains. Every kid plays that stupid game lately. Makes me sick."

"I don't like playing it… if we do I volunteer for the villain." Izuku told him, unaware that his eyes were turning black because of his hunger clawing at him again in another rumble from his stomach. "I mean… I wanted to be a hero, but with what I have there's no way I could be one, no matter what everyone tells me."

"Not everyone can become a hero with those pretty, flashy quirks." The man agreed.

"But…" Izuku grated before looking up at the man, red tinted tears falling from his black eyes. "I can't live like everyone else."

"What the hell is your quirk exactly, to make your eyes look like that?" The man asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Izuku's.

Izuku could only stare at the man, eyes widening as he watched the man reach out to touch him, one finger higher than the other. His friend's voices could be faintly heard but what he could mostly hear was his own heart in his ears and felt in his throat.

His hunger had been so bad that he lost control of the RC cells and allowed his eyes to turn; something that hadn't happened since his first attempt to starve himself a couple years ago.

"Tch, Pro Heroes are a joke kid, give yourself a livable goal to aim for."

"I can't touch anything with all five of my fingers without it crumbling away on me."

"If you don't shut up about All Might, the next thing I touch will be your face"

"Don't touch me!" Izuku yelled, his eyes closing tightly, the yell startling the man and he accidentally touched Izuku's left forearm with all five of his fingers, causing the skin to crumble away until muscle could be seen.

Immediately Izuku's rinkaku sprouted from his lower back and shoved the man off of him, his right hand gripping his left as pain spread through his body like electricity. It was just as bad as his hunger pains.

"Deku!" Bakugou's voice rang out as the rush of footsteps could be heard. Before his friends could find him, Izuku ran off further into the alley and past the man he threw on accident. He didn't want to be found or seen by anybody. And because he was faster than either of his friends, they lost him within moments.

"What the fuck did you do to deku?" Bakugou raged when they rounded back down the alley to the man, who is now slowly getting up with a hand on his head, one finger sticking up so he wouldn't make himself decay on accident.

"We startled each other and I accidentally got him with my quirk." He groaned.

"He better not be hurt you stinky pile of shit!"

"Watch your language! We need to find him before he gets lost." Konsei said as he grabbed Bakugou by his shirt and dragged him away from the blue tinted, silver haired man. "Especially before something else happens!"

"Next time I see you I'll blow you so fucking sky high you'll never come back down!" Bakugou promised before he reluctantly ran off with Konsei hot on his heels.

*#*#*

Izuku ran blindly away from that man, from his friends, and was in desperate want of a place to hide. He didn't want his friends to see how injured he was and be questioned as to why he's not healing yet. He knew why he wasn't healing; his body weak from starvation.

He couldn't even feel his left arm from the elbow down anymore. And because he refused to see if it was even there, he made himself believe it was already gone. It was only when his breath ran out and he needed to stop for air that he allowed himself to slow down and catch some much needed air in his heaving lungs.

"Izuku?" A familiar voice called out, making Izuku's trembling body tense. He knew that voice… it was one of his teacher's, his favorite one; Kaneki-sensei.

"What are you doing here?" Kaneki called out, his voice now closer to Izuku, startling him when a hand pressed on his shoulder.

Repercussions of what just happened with the guy earlier still fresh in his mind, Izuku flinched away from Kaneki's touch and jump away from him. Now that Izuku got a good look at his teacher, he could see a mask that was pulled down and hanging around his neck. He'd ask questions, but his pain and hunger fogged mind pushed it aside.

"You're… Why haven't you been able to heal yet Izuku?" Kaneki asked. "Don't tell me you're trying to starve yourself again!"

With a click of his tongue, Kaneki reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Quickly typing in the number he needed and pressed send before raising it to his ear.

"Touka-chan, I have Izuku and I need you to come help. He's injured and not healing… Yeah, bring it if you can. I'm behind Tatooin shopping district on business when he showed up out of nowhere… See you soon." After the phone call ended, Kaneki put his phone back in his pocket and returned his full attention to Izuku, who hadn't moved from where he landed moments ago.

"Izuku, Touka-sensei is on her way with first aid." Kaneki said calmly, hands raised up in front of him to show Izuku he meant no harm. He knew exactly what the boy was going through. Now wasn't the time to get mad at him.

"You mean with human meat, not first aid!" Izuku corrected him. He wasn't stupid, and it only angered him that Kaneki thought it'd work.

"Alright, fine, she's coming with food. That's the only thing that can help you right now." Kaneki assured him, but it seemed to only anger Izuku even further.

"She can shove I where the sun don't shine!" Izuku yelled, his ukaku wings bursting from his shoulders but before he could do anything, the smell of blood hit him like a face full of bricks. It wasn't coming from his teacher who showed no signs of injury. No, he would have smelled that before running into the alley. It was coming from around the corner that was followed by a string of curses.

Kaneki, who noticed this too, turned to see who was down the alley on his right and saw Konsei and Bakugou, though it was Bakugou who was on the ground, sporting a bleeding nose from falling and hitting face first into the cement.

"Shit! Run Konsei, Bakugou!" Kaneki yelled, hoping the two kids would listen but before he could move, Izuku was already running past him towards his friends. The familiar look of hunger, rage, and madness present in the boy's eyes in the split second of a glimpse that he got.

Before Izuku could get close, though, and before either of his friends and Kaneki could try to do anything to stop Izuku, someone jumped down from the rooftops and landed in front of the boy, a hand coming down on the nape of his neck just hard enough to render him unconscious.

"Do not worry, for I am here!" The tall, muscular man said as he picked up Izuku in his large hands before the boy collapsed to the ground. A moment later, a woman with shoulder length purple hair landed from the rooftops, holding a refrigerated bento box in her hands.

"All Might! How'd you…?" Kaneki gaped.

"I heard a commotion and had to see what was going on. I didn't think that it'd be made by a child of all people." All Might answered as he gently gave Izuku to Kaneki. "I'm glad I intervened when I did, though, because it looked like he was going after these two boys over here… Are you this boy's guardian by any chance?"

"I… We're his teachers, I'm Kaneki Ken and this is Kirishima Touka. We are part time teachers at a ghoul education center and work part time at the Anteiku coffee shop. I'm a retired, underground hero but still have my hero license because I teach kids how to control their kagune and stuff."

"All M-M-Might!" Konsei and Bakugou finally shrieked behind the tall man, causing everyone to tense, almost because they forgot they were even there. "I can't believe… All Might's here!" Bakugou continued. Konsei was still too awed to speak any further.

"And I'm glad you two boys are alright." All Might said as he turned and knelt down, a large hand resting atop their small heads. "From the looks of it young man, you didn't break your nose either so you should be fine. Here's some tissues."

"Tha… Thank you All Might!" Bakugou beamed, almost having forgotten his nose was bleeding until it was mentioned. He thankfully took the tissues and held them up to his nose.

"Is Izuku going to be okay?" Konsei asked, his attention moving past All Might to look at Kaneki, who's still holding an unconscious Izuku in his arms.

"He'll be fine once he gets something to eat." Touka answered for him. "But… because of what happened… he may need to be put under either house arrest with one of his teachers, or be put in an institute designed to help him stay on his diet until he does so."

"What? But he…" Konsei argued.

"He wasn't eating, was he?" Bakugou asked. "I mean… that'd be the only reason why his arm still looks like that."

"Apparently not…" Kaneki sighed, his gray gaze drifting down to the unconscious boy in his arms.

"I'm going to beat it into him this time. You're too soft Kaneki." Touka groused.

"No, I don't think there's any need for that anymore." Kaneki sighed with a small shake of his head. "But anyway, thank you again, All Might. We should really get going and get him to a hospital before he wakes up."

"No problem! I'm glad to help wherever I'm needed!" All Might smiled, raising his left hand and giving a thumbs up. "Now see you later! There was an accident I was heading to when I stopped by."

"Bye All Might!" Bakugou and Konsei cheered, neither of them having been aware that Izuku had targeted them because of his hunger. Neither Kaneki or Touka knew how to tell either of them that was the issue they now faced, and had to force Izuku to realize the danger he nearly caused.

With a small wave, and a hearty laugh with his toothy smile, All Might jumped with all his strength above the buildings that surrounded them, heading in the direction he intentionally was going and leaving Izuku in the hands of his teachers and friends.

"Bakugou, Konsei, will you go with Touka-chan and call Izuku's mother and have her meet us at Anteiku? We'll be with you guys shortly." Kaneki asked, a small smile on his face as he put his attention on the two boys still looking at the sky where they last saw All Might.

"But… what about Izuku?" Konsei frowned as the two of them turned to look at Izuku, who was starting to wake up.

"Now would be nice Touka-chan. Leave the bento here, I'll make sure he eats." Kaneki rushed as he turned to Touka, who placed the bento in Kaneki's open hand. "And don't worry boys, Izuku will be fine in a few minutes."

"Alright…" Konsei sighed and dragged Bakugou with him as they followed Touka towards the street, leaving Kaneki alone with Izuku even though he didn't want to.

Before Kaneki could put him down, Izuku suddenly shifted and pain surged from his right forearm. Making him drop Izuku and the bento he was holding.

"That's disgusting!" Izuku cried out as he spat out the flesh from his mouth. "Why do you taste so horrible?"

Izuku never got an answer, what he heard was a shuffling of noise before his head was reared back and the cold, refrigerated meat from the bento was shoved into his mouth. He tried to spit it back out, but his mouth got clamped shut and his nose pinched.

"Swallow it, then I'll release you." Kaneki hissed into Izuku's ear, making him tense because it wasn't a tone he ever heard Kaneki use before.

When Izuku managed to chew what's in his mouth and swallowed it. Once Kaneki was satisfied, he let Izuku go but only to make him finish what was in the bento. Neither of them talked until Izuku was done with everything in the bento. The strict glare coming from Kaneki only made Izuku tremble and tears falling from his black and red eyes.

"Izuku… I'm not trying to scare you, but… there are some things that the two of us should talk about. I'd rather it not be here, but back at Anteiku." Kaneki sighed as he knelt next to Izuku, a hand resting on top of his head. "Touka-chan has called your mother and is taking Konsei and Bakugou there right now. They should be there soon, so we need to start heading in that direction."

"But—"

"I'll answer any questions you have when we get to Anteiku, okay?" Kaneki said before Izuku could say more. A hand reaching into his pocket for a tissue to clean the blood from his lips and chin. "And since we're only a half hour away from Anteiku, I'll give you a ride and we can bypass the train today. You'll be in charge of holding the bento."

Izuku hesitated as Kaneki turned to allow him to climb onto his back. It took a few moments for him to accept his offer and climb up. Gripping onto his teacher's shoulders, bento between him and Kaneki's back.

*#*#*

No words were exchanged between Izuku and his teacher as they walked to Anteiku. Izuku kept his face hidden most of the time because his eyes wouldn't revert back to their original white sclera and green iris. Kaneki figured it was either because he was still hungry or it was because of the bento box between them. He was going for the latter for personal reasons. Eventually, Izuku's breathing slowed and evened out compared to how it was earlier; short and quick as if he was trying to stop himself from crying. Kaneki let him sleep until they reached Anteiku. The brick building large enough to hold several stores inside, except there were only two doors. One door led to the donation and distribution center on the left and on the right was the door to the coffee shop, a two story establishment that had windows for walls on the first floor. Latin letters written in cursive that said "Anteiku" written on the door in bright red paint.

"Izuku!" Inko cried out, rushing over the moment Kaneki walked in with a sleeping Izuku on his back.

"He's sleeping but otherwise doing much better than earlier. And before we all have a talk… there's some things I have to say and talk to him about."

"As long as he's alright." Inko sniffed. "Touka couldn't tell me much of what happened, and neither could Konsei and Bakugou seeing as they weren't there when everything happened."

"We'll all have answers shortly. I'll let Touka-chan know when you guys can come up."

"I'll be there in a few with some coffee for you and Izuku, Kaneki." Touka called out from behind the counter.

"Thank you Touka-chan. Well… see you guys shortly." Kaneki smiled and headed upstairs behind the "STAFF ONLY" door.

Once inside the meeting room Kaneki carefully set Izuku down on the couch, picking up the bento and taking Izuku's shoes off. He put the bento on the coffee table and Izuku's shoes by the door before taking a seat on the other end as he waited for Izuku to wake up. About ten minutes later, Touka entered with a tray holding a tray carrying a pot of fresh made coffee, two cups, and a bowl that looked like it had sugar cubes in it.

"He's still sleeping?" She asked as she sat down in the chair on the other side of the coffee table. Pouring them some coffee as she waited for Izuku to wake. "Bakugou and Konsei told Inko how they met All Might. She freaked out of course, but she was glad that he helped nonetheless. It's just that neither Konsei or Bakugou know exactly why Izuku was going towards them."

"I'll explain to them when I'm done talking with Izuku."

"Yoshimura would want you to put him under house arrest and stay with you until he learns why he can't starve himself like he has been." Touka sighed, knowing that Kaneki was probably going to ignore that part of his conversation with Izuku.

"I know… but I think it'll be different from now on, once he learns what happened. The smell of Bakugou's blood was the last straw on the camel's back. He probably doesn't remember it."

"Let's just hope that he doesn't turn into you." Touka sighed. "I'll head back down before Nishio destroys the coffee shop with his stupid ass sarcasm."

"Don't beat on him in front of the customers please." Kaneki chuckled under his breath, though he knew she heard him when she slammed the door on her way out.

With the slam of the door, Izuku jolted awake. Eyes snapping open as he slowly came to and taking in his surroundings.

"We're in the meeting room, if you're unsure of where you are." Kaneki said when Izuku slowly sat up.

"I thought I recognized this place." Izuku muttered, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch so his feet wouldn't be on the couch anymore.

An eerie silence fell between the two; Izuku not knowing how to continue the conversation with his questions, and Kaneki trying to figure out what he would talk about first. Then it clicked.

"What… do you remember happening, Izuku?"

"Well, I remember us arguing in the alley… then I'm biting into your arm. Between that I don't know what happened." Izuku answered with a sigh and slight hesitation as he tried to remember.

"You were starving, and injured, so when you smelled Bakugou's blood because of an injury he got when he tripped you were taken over by your hunger." Kaneki explained, well aware of the look of terror on Izuku's face without looking at him. "Izuku, madness caused by hunger for someone with the ghoul quirk is exactly that; madness. We attack whoever is nearby without hesitation because hunger has clouded our senses. The only thing we can think of is eating so it doesn't hurt anymore. We don't die of starvation; the madness of it keeps us alive."

"Are… is Kacchan and Konsei okay? I didn't… did I?" Izuku cried out, shifting on the couch so he was on his knees next to Kaneki, hands clenching the black trench coat he still wore.

"They're fine, didn't even get close to them. We were able to stop you and get something in you before that happened." Kaneki smiled, a hand coming up and resting on Izuku's head. "Let me tell you about myself a little bit, if you don't mind hearing a story."

Izuku only shook his head, unable to get words past his tongue as he tried to calm himself down. His shoulders shaking as Kaneki wrapped an arm around him.

"I was born into an underground hero family. My father was from a family of ghoul quirks, but my mother wasn't and had a rare quirk called 'photographic memory'. My dad died before I was born and my mother died shortly after I was born due to a complicated birth.

"Their marriage was never approved by either family; my dad's parents not wanting to sully the family quirk and name and my mother's parents never wanted her with someone with such a quirk. And because of this, neither family acknowledged my existence and I was thrown into one foster care after another.

"When I turned four, I got my mother's quirk first. A week later I got my dad's quirk. To say I was terrified is an understatement when I ate food I used to love suddenly turn into playdough on my tongue, feel like leather between my teeth, and a texture close to being a coarse sponge. The smell was a different story. It's pretty much the same way you got yours in a way, but I had no one to tell me such a thing would happen until I went to see a doctor because the foster parent I was with worried a lot.

"After the appointment, and learning what I was, I refused to follow my diet restrictions. Even after Yoshimura himself took me under his wing and adopted me when no foster parent wanted me, I didn't want what I was born with, even if my best friend was being supportive of me and tried to make sure I ate when no one else could keep an eye on me.

"Hide… even after we got through primary and about two years in middle school together, kept an eye on me until he had to go to see his family in another city for about a month and a half, made sure I ate even if he had to shove it down my throat. But while he was gone, I barricaded myself in my apartment, refusing to eat, talk to people, and refused to leave for anything. When Hide came back, I was already long gone. He came over with Touka-chan to see if I was alright when they both learned that I lied to them both and… I attacked Hide. Touka-chan got injured and Hide has a regeneration quirk so any damage he took from me was gone within a few days because it's slow."

"Does he… still talk to you?" Izuku asked when Kaneki paused.

"Yes, we're still close friends but I pushed him away for years, afraid of what he'd think about me. We ended up going to different high schools; Yoshimura insisted on me getting into the Hero course at UA and I ended up just listening to him. I was, by the time I learned what happened to Hide, refused to starve myself because I didn't want to hurt anybody anymore, so I wasn't in any danger of hurting anybody else., though my first year at UA consisted of me throwing myself in danger. And because I was born of only one parent having the ghoul quirk, my skin isn't as tough as someone who is born from two ghoul quirk parents—or a source quirk—I ended up getting injured a lot in high school."

"Wait, you were a hero?!" Izuku shrieked.

"Yes, I went to UA for the hero course and got my certification. Worked as an underground hero before I decided to retire and become a teacher for others with ghoul quirks. Besides, I missed working here in Anteiku and needed a break from hero work."

"Did something happen?"

"A lot of things, but I'll tell you another day." Kaneki smiled, though Izuku could tell it was a false smile to hide something, but he didn't press any further.

"Does… Konsei and Kacchan know what I was going to do?"

"I don't know." Kaneki sighed. "You are free to tell them if you wish, but please promise me something that no matter what you do you won't push them away. When I pushed Hide away when I was starving myself and with what happened afterwards, he almost got himself killed trying to help me."

"Where's Hide-san now?"

"He's in Sapporo, Tokyo right now on an assignment. He works for Yoshimura you know, and is a donator when he can." Kaneki smiled. "You should be able to meet him one of these days."

"Awesome! I wanna see this mysterious Hide-san!" Izuku bounced, Kaneki's arm raising so he wouldn't end up hitting himself from Izuku's enthusiasm.

"We have to discuss punishment for you, Izuku." Kaneki said, making Izuku tense and refuse to make eye contact with his teacher. "You broke the rules and almost caused a massacre. Normally the police would be involved, but since you didn't actually hurt anybody, we don't see a need to get them involved. But, you will be under house arrest with one of your teachers until we make sure you'll eat properly to keep this from happening again."

"With a s-s-sensei?" Izuku squeaked.

"Yes…"

"Anybody but Tsukiyama-sensei, please! He scares me!" Izuku pleaded.

"I'm willing to make an exception with him… so are you willing to do what we tell you from now on?" Kaneki nodded.

"I… I don't want to hurt anybody. And I almost hurt Kacchan and Konsei." Izuku muttered. "I thought I was only hurting myself, but… you're right."

"You don't have to like it, but you do have to accept what is." Kaneki suggested. "Like I did after I learned I hurt Hide. It's a part of life, something you're born with, and you can't control what you're born with."

"Can I… stay with you? Touka-sensei scares me sometimes too and I feel like she's going to be extra scary if I stay with her."

"I won't be going easy on you either young man." Kaneki assured.

"I do… have a question though." Izuku said after he stared at his teacher for a moment. "Who actually stopped me?"

"It was Touka-chan and I. She dropped at the right time from the roof tops and literally slammed you into the ground." Kaneki lied, knowing that if Izuku were to learn that his dream hero, All Might, stopped him from going berserk, he'd be heart broken and wouldn't want to see the light of day again because of guilt.

"That's why she's scary."

"She even promised to shove food down your throat if you refused to eat."

"Kaneki-sensei!" Izuku cried out.

"Don't worry Izuku, she wouldn't hurt you too much, but she is serious. She's the one that shoved food down my throat, literally, when I attacked her the first time we met because I was wanting to starve myself to death. Anyway, your mother's downstairs with your friends, would you like to go see them?"

"Un." Izuku nodded. "I need to apologize to Kacchan and Konsei and okaa-san. And Kaneki-sensei… thank you…" He added before throwing his arms around Kaneki's neck in a hug. Startling his teacher, who wasn't used to such contact from anybody besides Hide. Even so, he gave Izuku a hug back.

"Before we go downstairs, let's drink the coffee Touka-chan made for us." Kaneki offered, and Izuku accepted.

"What's the cubes?"

"They help curb our appetite if we're getting too hungry. I like putting them in my coffee for a snack. You're welcome to try it. If you find it to your liking I'll see about getting you some, especially for when you're relieved of your house arrest and go back home."

Izuku nodded and let Kaneki put a cube in his coffee. When Kaneki stirred the cups contents he handed it over and watched carefully how Izuku handled it only to smile when he watched Izuku down the cup with beaming eyes.

"It helps those with ghoul quirks to get used to the fact that they have nothing else but water, coffee, and human flesh to survive off of. If you like to hear a secret, I always told myself I'm putting sugar in my coffee to put my mind at ease."

"Really? You don't get nauseated at the thought of it being sugar when it isn't?"

"Nope, and I've been doing that for years." Kaneki said with a thumbs up and drank his own once he put a cube in his coffee and stirred it. "It may disrupt the natural taste of coffee, but sometimes just coffee isn't enough to put a hungry stomach at ease when someone doesn't have the time to eat right away."

"I'll keep that in mind." Izuku nodded, and the twinkle in his eye made Kaneki believe he meant every word. It was the same look Izuku got when he went hero watching and wrote notes on when he could before classes were to start.

"Okay, let's head on down and meet everyone."

"Touka-sensei won't hit me will she?"

"If you don't give her anymore reason, but I think you'll get one hit for good measure so brace yourself." Kaneki said, knowing Touka would most definitely throw in one hit on the top of Izuku's head for causing her so much trouble.

They went downstairs together when Izuku put his shoes back on and stomped down the stairs one at a time. His mood having lifted for the moment until he reached the door. His small hands hesitant on the handle before he looked back up to Kaneki. Eyes that were glowing a moment ago now dimmed and searching for an answer to a question that didn't need to be asked.

"They've stayed friends with you for this long knowing what your quirk makes you do, they'll still be your friends now." Kaneki smiled. "Now go sit with your friends and Touka-chan while I talk with your mother."

"Okay." Izuku nodded, his hands still hesitant on opening the door for a moment before he turned the handle and went to the café floor.

Izuku didn't go far without his mom rushing over and pulling him into a tight hug, tears falling from her eyes as she told Izuku how sorry she was. Izuku had to fight back his own tears as he told his mom that nothing was her fault, and that it was all his before saying that Kaneki wanted to talk to her. Inko was reluctant in leaving Izuku, but she followed Kaneki up the stairs anyway and left Izuku with his friends and Touka.

*#*#*

Bakugou didn't know what to expect from Izuku when he finally saw him after an hour of waiting. He almost wanted to blast the deku sky high for doing what he did to himself, but he thought better of it when Touka slapped the deku on the back of his head before lecturing him.

It didn't matter, though, that it still scared him about the fact that from what Touka could pick up of the situation, the deku almost attacked him and Konsei. The explosive boy would know that Konsei wouldn't blame Izuku for what happened, but Bakugou didn't know if he could. He wanted to forgive and not blame Izuku. He knows how much the deku suffered because of his quirk, and why he would starve himself, try to stab himself with anything sharp he could put his small hands on when the deku thought no one was watching, and why he almost threw himself off the roof of their old apartment before they moved. He had managed to talk the stupid deku out of that one somehow, but he wasn't sure it'd work another time if the deku tried it again.

For now, he'd focus on making sure the stupid deku would eat so he wouldn't do that again, but he'd also be more strict in his methods. He did not want the deku to stop chasing his dreams of becoming a hero, even though the other boy showed signs of giving up on it.

Bakugou was about to start a plan on how he'd make sure Izuku would keep to his strict diet when the words "house arrest" escaped the deku's mouth.

"What?" Bakugou asked.

"I'm on house arrest until they make sure I follow my diet. I don't know how long it'd take, but Kaneki-sensei said it may not be long considering what happened. And I'll be staying with him and it won't be like I can't see anybody or talk to either of you while I'm there." Deku said, avoiding on making eye contact with him as he spoke.

"Where does he even live? I doubt our parents will let us travel far without them to come and visit you." Konsei spoke instead of Bakugou. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Deku was moving, again, and possibly further away.

"He lives here on the fourth floor." Touka answered. "I live across from him."

"Huh?"

"The third and fourth floors are apartments for those with a ghoul quirk that Yoshimura-san rents out to until they feel more confident with being on their own with other humans around them. Kaneki and I have a special arrangement with Yoshimura and are permanent residents in those apartments." She explained. "And whether or not any of you will be able to visit is up to Kaneki, since he'll be his live-in-jailer."

"He wouldn't be that mean… would he?" Deku asked.

"You have no clue how scary Kaneki can be… and you may learn that while you're with him." Touka sighed. "Anyway, would you like another cup of coffee Izuku?"

"Yes please."

"I'll give it to you on the house this time, but remember that I won't do it often." She said as she stood. "I'll bring you and Konsei a drink too, what would you like to have?"

"Milk!" Bakugou answered immediately.

"Water is fine…" Konsei muttered, finally speaking after being silent since they left Deku in the alley.

"I'm serious, you boys are on the house too. Ask for anything you want, but you're limited to one thing."

"Bubble tea… made with Matcha green tea then." Konsei sighed. "And I still want the water."

"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks in a few." Touka smiled, knowing that Konsei was having a hard time wrapping his brain around what happened today. She wouldn't blame him if he'd want to spend time away from Izuku while he was on house arrest.

"Deku!" Bakugou hissed and hit the back of Izuku's head just like Touka had. "You nearly gave us heart attacks!"

"I'm sorry!" Deku whined. "If… if I knew that I'd hurt anybody I wouldn't have done what I did."

"We'll forgive you this time, but next time I won't hesitate to blow you sky high." Bakugou promised.

*#*#*

The boys spent time catching up with each other as they played a board game as they drank their drinks Touka gladly made them. They wanted to be as quiet as possible so they didn't disturb the atmosphere in the coffee shop until Inko made her way back downstairs with Kaneki. She looked sad, but accepted the fact that Izuku would be away from her home for a while. She understood how much Izuku needed to accept who he is for because of his quirk and supported the decision Kaneki made about the matter.

However, she didn't want to leave him so soon, and with the start of school being so close. She worried that it'd put too much of a strain on the teacher and voiced that when she talked with him.

"Don't worry Midoriya-san, it won't be too much of a problem. I swear." Kaneki had said. "He's a good boy and I trust him to follow my rules. He knows the consequences if he doesn't and I have a good feeling what this house arrest will bring for him in the future. It may not sound like it right now, but in time it'll be worth it."

She only hoped he was right, and left Izuku in his care. Especially when Kaneki told her that he wouldn't cut Izuku from family and friends and allowed them to visit when possible. Izuku just wouldn't be allowed to go to them without Kaneki or Touka or one of the teachers being with him.

Kaneki had left Izuku in the care of Touka while he took the boys and Inko home with the purpose of bringing back all of the things Izuku would need while he stayed with him. Izuku didn't want to say bye to either Bakugou or Konsei, but he gave them a hug and a promise to keep his word as they left first. He gave his mom a hug the longest, knowing that it'd be just as hard on her as it would be on him to be away from her. She promised to visit him every day if it was allowed. So when they left, Touka pulled Izuku to the side back to the table they had occupied most of the afternoon.

"Izuku… I know that what I will say may sound alarming, but please take it to heart what I'm about to tell you. If Kaneki ever starts showing signs of stress, screaming in the middle of the night, or stops sleeping altogether while you're with him, come running to me immediately. Don't try to help him. It will only hurt you if you tried." She told him.

"Does… Does it have to do with why he stopped being a hero?" Izuku asked, earning a shocked expression from her and wondered if he said the wrong thing.

"If Kaneki didn't tell you, then I cannot answer that, Izuku. He has to tell you in his own time, and if he didn't say anything to you this time, then he isn't ready for you to know yet. But, please promise me you'll do this for me."

"I promise Touka-sensei." Izuku nodded, and Touka couldn't help but smile. She knew the boy had many questions, but also knew he was smart for his age and knew how to keep out of other people's business. She admired that about the boy and ruffled his green hair before returning to work.

*#*#*

While under the strict watch of Kaneki-sensei, Izuku felt like he was in school at all hours of the day, every day of the week. Kaneki seemed like he was a strict person, but also allowed slip ups when necessary. School started and Izuku felt overloaded with the lectures and his studying, but Kaneki helped when he was asked and smiled when Izuku eventually worked everything out on his own after a few guiding words from him. He prided himself in how Izuku was able to apply himself to his studies to get good grades.

When he learned why Izuku was trying so hard, it shocked him. Izuku had wanted to attend the same middle school as Konsei and Bakugou; Orudera Middle school in his home town. And after hearing the reason being was because he was thinking about going back to his dreams of becoming a hero and wanted to be with Bakugou and Konsei, who would keep him on his path without hesitation, he couldn't help but smile. It only faltered when Izuku added that he still had reservations on becoming a hero, mostly because he was a source quirk and worried that people would be too scared of him because of his power.

The house arrest only lasted a month; three weeks into the new school term, and Izuku suggested that because his school was about a twenty minute walk away from Anteiku, he asked if he could stay for the rest of the term to help his mom with the travel expenses needed to get to school. She hesitated, but allowed it as long as Kaneki was okay with the arrangement, who was ecstatic that Izuku wanted to stay with him longer. Bakugou and Konsei were sad, but understood that the travel cost to go to school 6 days a week at a school that was half an hour away from home was a lot so they weren't too mad with Izuku. They just visited whenever they could and held study groups in one of the meeting rooms at Anteiku to catch up, play games, and of course study.

An incident that Touka warned him about that could happen, never did that entire month.

After staying up late to study one night, Izuku dragged himself from his bedroom to get a glass of water before falling asleep. He debated whether or not he should make some coffee and have one of those cubes in it to stave off some hunger he was feeling due to being bored and wanting a snack. But when he read his alarm clock and saw that it was nearing midnight, he thought he'd better not. He didn't want to wake Kaneki-sensei in case he was sleeping already.

With a glass of water from the kitchen in hand, Izuku made his way back to his room only to pause when he heard a groan of pain coming from his teacher's room. Being a child, he was curious as to what could be causing his teacher pain, almost wondering if someone snuck into the apartment and was trying to hurt him. So he went to his room to put the water on his desk by his bed and rushed back to his teacher's room where loud, incoherent muttering could be heart through the cracked door.

Steeling his nerves, Izuku opened the cracked door a little bit more to peek in and saw that his teacher was definitely alone. But now the sound of flesh tearing, the smell of blood that filled the air, and a scream that tore through the silence like a hot knife to ice cold butter.

He wanted to burst into his teacher's room to help him. Wake him up from whatever nightmare he was having, but he remembered the words that Touka told him the day he started living with his teacher had him thinking otherwise. She seemed to be genuinely frightened that Izuku would be hurt if he tried to help his teacher during one of these nightmares.

He went against his urge to rush in there and wake his teacher before running to the front door and across the hall. Touka had also told him her door was always unlocked in case this would happen. The feeling of breaking and entering bothered him, but the thought didn't stay long when he burst into her apartment crying.

"Touka-sensei!" He cried out. "Touka-sensei!"

"You little creep! Do you have any idea what time it is?" Touka's sleepy, irritated voice yelled through the apartment as she stomped to the doorway. Her anger vanished, though, when she saw his tears and frightened eyes.

"Stay here." She ordered and rushed across the hall, closing the doors behind her and Izuku went further into the apartment and crawled onto the couch. He couldn't get the smell of his teacher's blood out of his nose. Nor could he get the terrified sound his teacher made as he lived in his nightmare, whatever it consisted of.

He cried himself to sleep on the couch in Touka's apartment before she came back, spots of blood on her night clothes that weren't hers. She let him sleep on the couch and covered him with a blanket before changing and going back to bed herself. She had hoped that Kaneki was over the nightmares, since he hadn't had one in two years, but now she was thinking that he was rebounding on his therapy. She'd have a proper talk with her fellow teacher when they could be alone together. Right now, she had to worry about how this would affect Izuku but since he was asleep, she couldn't do much until morning when they got ready to go to school.

*#*#*

After the nightmare incident, Touka urged Kaneki to have Izuku stay with her. She brought up the fact that after three nights back in his apartment Izuku was getting less sleep each night. She, however, couldn't tell if the boy was frightened of Kaneki or was having nightmares himself, but she deemed it bad for Izuku's health to stay with his favorite teacher much longer.

When this was brought up with Izuku, who continued to study despite how exhausted he was, felt shocked that Touka wanted him to stay with her instead.

"But, what if Kaneki-sensei needs help again? Who will be there to hear it when it starts so I can get you before it gets too bad?" Izuku asked, his worry filled eyes that sported heavy bags and black circles underneath them, pleaded with Touka to let him stay. "Kaneki-sensei needs help and I'm the only one that can get him that help before it gets too bad."

"Izuku, I know you worry about him. But he has to deal with this on his own. You losing sleep like this isn't going to help him either, and it's certainly not helping you. You're barely staying awake during lessons and can barely keep up during kagune practice." Touka sighed. "I am beyond happy that you want to help him, but staying with me is what needs to be done. Kaneki thinks you should stay with me too, he's afraid that he's scared the shit out of you that night."

"Is that why he's avoiding me?" Izuku asked, his gaze falling back to his studies he'd barely been able to concentrate on before Touka came to talk to him. "He scared me yes, but what it was that did that was the smell of blood as he hurt himself in his sleep and didn't even wake himself up because of the pain."

"I'll tell you one thing about him that you should know, Izuku, and it's that he can no longer feel physical pain. Hasn't been able to for years."

"No wonder he isn't fazed during practice when he gets hurt." Izuku sighed, a hand resting on his head and pulling him to the side as Touka pulled him into a hug. "I figured it might have been so, but not that bad."

Silence filled the air between them. Not tense. Not threatening. Not heavy. It was a calm silence as both of them thought of what words were needed to be said.

"Let's make a compromise, so I don't have to move again and that will help you keep an eye on him in case he has another nightmare." Izuku proposed.

"What would that be?"

"This may sound stupid but… one-way baby monitors work wonders."

Irritated that a nine year old thought of this before she did made her grab a handful of Izuku's hair and shove his face into his text book.

"Get studying you little shit stain."

"You're copying Kacchan, Touka-sensei." Izuku laughed.

"Who do you think helped teach that shit stain his language? His mother isn't the only one with colorful words." Touka groused. "But that was a good idea, Izuku. I'll take you up on your offer if you buy the materials and set it up for me. I have an assignment that I have to do or I'd go buy it myself."

"So the 'White Rabbit' has work today?"

"Keep your mouth shut."

"Is the 'Black Rabbit' working with you on this one?" Izuku beamed. "You're both so cool! I wish I could actually meet your brother!"

"He's always busy but I'll drop him the hint when I see him. Now get studying, you won't make it in Orudera with the grades you have now if you keep slacking." Touka smirked. "Be good and if your friends come over, stay in the apartment. The meeting rooms are all booked today."

"Sure thing Touka-sensei!" Izuku smiled.

"And if they don't come over, take a nap or go to bed early. Kaneki should be back by dinner but he's working on an assignment so he may be late."

"I thought he retired?"

"It's a pick up job from another donation site and the paperwork needed takes a while to go through."

"Alright. Bye Touka-sensei! I'll make sure I go to bed early tonight. If I don't then Kacchan and Konsei will make sure of it anyway." Izuku promised.

"If you need anything, go to Anteiku and they'll help you."

"Yoshu!"

* * *

 **Author's End Note:**

 **Hey guys! Here's a new chapter! I want to let everyone know now that the next one won't be here for a while. Next week (12/4-12/8) is finals week for my online class and I need to study and take my exam. But don't worry! I will be back with a new chapter for all of you very soon!**

 **I did kind of make this chapter very focused on the Tokyo Ghoul characters, but I felt that was needed in this chapter because of Izuku not accepting his quirk. If I'm making things confusing for anybody, please ask me questions, Don't be afraid to ask because I will answer them to the best of my ability at the beginning of my next chapter like I did this one.**

 **Also, I'm thinking about holding a poll to see if Izuku should still be the next holder of "One For All" like in the anime/manga. Whichever answer gets the most votes will be what I will go for. Just add a yes or no when you review and I'll reveal in the next chapter which one is the winner. There's one more chapter I need to do before I'm ready to start with the stuff from the show—more like there's more research and figuring out how things will play out since I'm adding two students to class 1-A. We all know that Konsei is getting in, but the second one will be a secret until I make the big reveal.**

 **Please review, follow, favorite, whichever you wanna do and I'll see you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

 **Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter and I decided to change the focus with this one and dive into Konsei's life for most of it since we don't know much about him. I also introduce another BNHA character but if I were to tell you who it is here then it'd be a spoiler. And, I also think this will be either a tad bit shorter or longer than the last chapter. It depends on what all I'm adding to the chapter before cutting it off.**

 **To warn everyone before you read, this is a major time skip from the previous chapter. I know I'm trying to fit a lot before we catch up with the timeline of the anime/manga itself, but these are necessary time skips for the story. Think of it as almost of an info dump… a necessary info dump.**

 **I hope you all enjoy! Don't flame me for my lack in experience with action/fight scenes. I'm trying and it's hard when it's not something I normally write. This entire thing is completely out of my comfort zone, in fact. LOL**

 **I hope you all enjoy learning a bit about my Konsei! Please R+R+F+F if you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Heavy Burdens

Konsei didn't know how to explain himself; he felt weary being around Izuku, yet he couldn't find it in himself to abandon one of his two only friends outside of his home even when five years had passed since then. Being an only child hurt not only how he interacted with other students his age, but it hurt in his ability to make friends. He found it a miracle that he managed to be friends with both Izuku and Bakugou.

After being told that Izuku almost attacked them because of both starvation and being injured, he couldn't get himself to visit his friend, always making an excuse with Bakugou by saying he had to train with his family. It was a good excuse, being an only child _and_ a source quirk for the elements took priority over friendship in his house; a family that used martial arts of all kinds with their element natures.

Konsei's family was one of the weird ones amongst all quirks; no one element passed down or combined in their family. The father could be born with a fire element quirk and the mother could have a water element quirk and the child could have either one or a completely different element altogether. The news of Konsei being a source quirk with all the elements surprised his entire family, and made it their sole purpose to make sure he can use his abilities to the fullest.

Everyone in Konsei's family are masters of all kinds of martial arts forms from around the world for generations so they managed to blend the fighting styles with certain element manipulations.

His father was never gentle as he taught Konsei to use fire with Northern Shaolin style. His mother, who was a source quirk for water manipulation, was always calm yet firm in her teachings as she taught him to use water, ice, and blood styles with Tai Chi. His grandmother was stubborn, always a thorn in Konsei's side as he was taught how to use his earth and metal elements with both Southern Praying Mantis and Hung Gar. Konsei's worst element came from manipulating air with his cousin, whom had lived in China as a monk until his quirk was revealed, taught him how to use his air element with Ba Gua Zhang.

Konsei didn't know what it was. He could use the fighting style perfectly, and remembered everything he was taught by his cousin, but when he applied the element it either didn't do anything or sent him flying. Konsei half wished his cousin would yell at him and tell him what his mistake was, what he was doing wrong, but his cousin never once raised his voice or threatened to hit him when he did something wrong like his father did. All his cousin told him to do when he messed up was to meditate under the waterfall in of the training fields.

Today, though, Konsei wished he was training with his calm cousin, or his calm mother. Anybody would have been better than his father right now. Even with his father not here in person for the last three hours of his training Konsei still felt the rage that boiled his blood. On top of his father's outrageous demands of his training and school work, the first day of school was the cake to the icing that was his father.

Each blast of fire he made he envisioned the people on the bullet train.

Each throw of earth he saw the students in his class.

Each animal he controlled with blood manipulation he saw the vice principal.

Each piece of metal he twisted he saw his father and heard the word "failure" like a broken record.

Konsei's anger was strong enough to turn coal into diamond.

*#*#*

 _It was the first day of junior high, Izuku found out quickly that he, Bakugou, and Konsei would be riding the same bullet train to get to school. He got so excited, even, that his eyes changed without realizing it, causing a slight panic on the car of the bullet train they occupied. Konsei had to help calm Izuku down while Bakugou went off on everyone that freaked out. By the time they reached their destination, half the people on the train rushed off to get away from Bakugou, who was still yelling profanities at them. On their walk from the stop to their junior high school, Bakugou's profanity went straight to Izuku._

" _You dumbass deku! Learn to control your fucking quirk better!" Bakugou barked, hands dug deep into the pockets of his black uniform pants and a scowl on his face. "But I swear! It's like they never saw his quirk before!"_

" _But Kacchan, you didn't have to go full on 'Katsuki' towards them either." Izuku muttered, eyes drifting from his friend and towards the ground._

" _Did you just use my name as an verb?"_

" _Everyone uses your name as a verb." Konsei sighs. "Just be glad it was just your eyes and not your other gifts."_

" _I'm thankful too, to be honest. It's not how I wanna spend my first day in a real school anyway!" Izuku beamed, his eyes sparkling. "It's been so long since I've had classes with other kinds of quirks so I guess I'm just really nervous."_

" _Don't be. And remember, if any of those fuckers give you a hard time, show them why you shouldn't be messed with." Bakugou smirked as he pulled a hand out and let off small explosions in his palm._

" _I can't do that Kacchan!" Izuku cried out. "I mean, you already saw the reactions of adults on the bullet train! It'd be worse coming from others our age!"_

" _He does have a point Bakugou. He can't always beat them up like you." Konsei agreed._

" _That's why he's a deku and always will be." Bakugou snorted._

" _Sometimes I wish you'd stop calling me that…" Izuku sighed, shoulders slumped. "It's not only embarrassing but it makes me feel insignificant and stupid."_

" _I call you 'deku' because you can't take care of yourself without us or someone being there for you." Bakugou said as he turned to look at Izuku, who had fallen behind in their walk. They were almost to the school now, it was in view, only a hundred meters away, and they could already see all the students piling into the school to head to the entrance ceremony. "When you show me you can take care of yourself without injury, or starving yourself because of your quirk, I'll stop calling you 'deku,' ya hear me damn it?"_

" _I hear… I hear…" Izuku sighed and they started walking again. Konsei could only shake his head at their conversation and the three of them fell silent._

 _The first half of the day went alright. Everyone was able to introduce themselves and show off their quirks for a moment so everyone knew what they were. All but two people in class were freaked out over Izuku's quirk, and called him a monster best fit for a villain because of it. This prompted Bakugou to rage and be forced back into his seat by Konsei's quirk, which kept him in his chair by manipulating the metal and making a restraint out of what he could so the chair didn't collapse. When everyone calmed, the homeroom teacher reminded them that the use of quirks was against the rules in middle school and that they should now have better control of their quirks than when they were in elementary school._

 _When lunch rolled around, Izuku refused to leave his seat as he stared at his empty desk until Bakugou and Konsei pulled up a seat and sat with him. They knew as well as Izuku did, that he would refuse to eat his lunch, and they were there to make sure he ate. The weekend before school started, they were told at Izuku's old residence that his eating schedule was like everyone else's, since he now had to eat more often to get in the regulated amount his body needed so it wouldn't feel like it starved._

" _You're not going to eat, are you?" Konsei asked between bites when he realized that Izuku didn't pull out his bento box. The observation being noticed by Katsuki, causing the explosive teen to glare at Izuku and making the timid teen tense._

" _Get your bento out and start eating, deku." Katsuki ordered. "I don't want to know what will happen if you skip lunch. Not only will your mother be pissed, but both of our mothers will be. Then there's Kaneki and Touka, the freak, and—"_

" _But… Kacchan…" Izuku whispered. "There's… I can't eat in front of…"_

" _Let them stare! You have to eat too ya deku?" Bakugou snapped._

" _Let's go talk to the principal." Konsei suggested as he stood. "Then we'll have lunch."_

 _Bakugou nor Izuku were able to question Konsei as to what he was talking about but they grabbed their bento's and followed their usually quiet friend to the principal's office._

" _He's in a meeting right now, but maybe there's something I can help you with?" The vice principal told them when they reached the main office._

" _Because of Izuku's quirk, he has a certain diet restriction and it's making it hard for him to eat lunch in front of others. We were wondering if we could have permission to have our lunch time on the roof where no one else would be around to watch him eat and bully him because of his diet restriction." Konsei explained, shocking both Izuku and Bakugou because they never heard him speak so much at once._

" _Oh, you're Midoriya Izuku?" The vice principal asked. "I talked with your previous teacher, Kaneki-san, and we were able to make arrangements for where you can eat lunch. I'm surprised we didn't ask you to come to the office this morning before homeroom to let you know sooner. We've given you permission to have lunch on the roof and your friends can join you if you so desire so you can have someone with you if you want. The door locks so you'll have to come and borrow the key for the roof and you'll be able to lock it on the other side if you want to make sure no one can sneak up on you while you're eating."_

" _Let's get the damn key and go eat then!" Bakugou groused. "I'm starving!"_

" _For today, though, since we told you a little too late, you can have lunch in the teacher's lounge. They all know your situation and if they have a problem with you three being there tell them to give me a call in my office." The vice principal added. "And I do apologize for us not telling you about this sooner, Midoriya-kun."_

" _It's okay sensei." Izuku smiled although his heart was frantically trying to beat out of his chest through his throat. He had to eat in front of other people that didn't have the same quirk as he did. It didn't matter if they knew, he knows they'll be terrified of him and give him that look his classmates and teachers gave him today. He should have known that going to a normal school was a bad idea._

" _I think we should have the key. There's forty-five minutes left of our lunch hour and Izuku, as Kaneki-san definitely told you, has a hard time eating even with people that have the same diet restriction he has. He'll never get himself to eat in front of fellow students, let alone teachers." Konsei sighed. He was getting irritated that the vice principal was pulling Izuku by the chain. Konsei knew exactly what the man was trying to do. And if Izuku knew, he was going to smack him for allowing himself to be drug in the mud like he was about to._

 _His anger and irritation must have gone to his face, because the vice principal paled before he spoke again._

" _I will not tolerate discrimination from anybody, especially from someone as old as you and aiming it towards someone in junior high. The next time I see or hear it from anybody in this school that's on staff will be given a visit by the government within an hour of my call." Konsei paused for a moment as he balled his right fist by his side, white hot flames erupting around his skin as he continued to speak. "It'd most likely be a visit from the founder of the Ghoul Quirk Rights legislation, Yoshimura-san himself that'd visit you and Izuku, myself, and Bakugou are friends of his and have known him since we were four."_

" _It's on the wall by the door. Just put your name in the slot and take the key. When you are done with it just bring it back and hang it on its slot and sign your name again to let us know that you've taken and returned the key." The vice principal said nervously before disappearing into his office. Bakugou was already signing the key out, leaving Konsei to drag the shocked Izuku behind him as the three went to the roof to have lunch._

*#*#*

"Cousin, you need to calm down. You've nearly destroyed the training grounds." Konsei's cousin, Tousei, chuckled. Breaking Konsei's concentration to turn and face his visitor.

"Tch, it's not something I can't fix." Konsei scoffed, turning away as he went to work on fixing the training grounds.

"I take it your father said some things that set you off?"

"It wasn't just that asshole! Today was the first day of middle school and Izuku is finally able to control his quirk to be around others, yet everyone totally hates him because of what his quirk is! Do you know how crowded a bullet train car is? We were able to breathe on the way to school because people squished against one side of the car to keep away from him when his eyes changed because he was so happy to see us. The kids in our class basically told him he'll be nothing more than a villain. And the vice principal tried to get Izuku to quit coming to school by making him eat in the teacher's lounge even after Kaneki-san made sure he had arrangements! The asshole even…" Konsei ranted on and on, eventually stopping when a hand rested on his left shoulder. His building anger subsiding just enough for him to relax for a few minutes before he tensed again.

"The asshole I have to call 'father' called me a failure because I still can't control my air manipulation." He added before he shrugged off his cousin's hand.

"You're burdened with not only you hiding your source quirk, but you're also burdened by living up to the family name because you're an only child, and you're burdened by your need to protect your best friend." Tousei noted. "I believe that you having so much on your shoulders is causing you to be unable to control your air manipulation. Maybe I can talk to him and—"

"No! If you tell him that he'll force me to not be friends with Izuku anymore! He already wants me as far away from him as possible but I refuse to let him tell me who I can and cannot be friends with!" Konsei interrupted, his voice loud. "Izuku… was the first one to be my friend despite my lack in actually wanting a friend. He's never pressured me to be someone I didn't want to be and he accepted me with open arms when I finally got myself to tell him I'm a source quirk.

"He was… so ecstatic to hear I was a source quirk and wouldn't stop mumbling for hours on how it can be used as a pro hero. He's never told anybody about it either, even without my having to ask. So when he learned what his quirk was, I couldn't help but want to be there for him like he was for me. So you can't go to him about this, please Tousei."

Konsei didn't know when the tears had started to fall, not until his nose started running and Tousei had him pulled into a hug.

"I won't then. Now want to try some air manipulation today?"

"I… you know I can't do it right off the bat." Konsei sighed as he pulled back. Drying his eyes and cheeks as he composed himself.

"I have a feeling you'll get it this time. Think of helping someone other than yourself. Air is the element of freedom, but in order to manipulate it we cannot be grounded by selfish desires that surround ourselves." Tousei smiled. "Now, don't think about the movements and try to manipulate the air around you, forming a small tornado with a finger. Like this."

With that, Tousei raised his right hand, a finger pointing towards the sky before he twirled it around, causing a spiral of wind to form and make a small tornado at the tip of his finger.

"This is all I think you should focus on for now. No fighting style, just think about manipulating the actual element and once you're able to do it without thinking, then we'll try it out in a fight."

Konsei wanted to yell at his cousin, claim that whatever he tried would just be in vain. Not work. But he was done arguing with the monk and didn't have the energy to ignore him and sulk in his room where his dad may find him and argue that he's wasting precious training time. So he did what his cousin asked of him with a deep breath and focused on what his cousin said he should.

 _ **Someone other than myself… and manipulating the actual element…**_ He thought with one more deep breath before raising his hand like his cousin had and focused on swirling the air around with his finger.

At first, nothing happened. And when five minutes went by with nothing happening, Konsei wanted to give up and he started doubting not only himself, but about the fact that he actually isn't a source quirk like everyone thought he was. But he kept at it for another few minutes before letting out a frustrated breath and lowered his hand.

"I'm done for today." Konsei groused. "It's obvious that I'm not a source quirk."

"Don't give up so easily Konsei. It takes time for these things."

"I was able to do all the other elements with no problem! Why is it so difficult for air?" Konsei yelled. "You know what, I'm going on a run." And with that, Konsei took off towards the gate that led to the side of the house. Running past his father as he left and ignoring the look of disgust his father sent him and the words of "get back here and train! I didn't say you could stop!"

With a huff, Konsei turned right and ran towards town. He wanted to be as far away from his father and the house as he possibly could.

"I may just be his cousin, uncle, but I feel like I can no longer watch from the sidelines like I have these last few years since I returned to train him." Tousei said as he walked out from the training grounds, standing a few meters away from the hot blooded man.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about Uncle Hinote. It's about Konsei and how you treat him."

"How I treat my son is none of your business." Hinote snapped, his gaze turning from where he watched Konsei leave to glare at the monk with his fire red eyes.

"It is my business because I am his teacher, mentor, counsel, and family. There's much more to just manipulating air than you think. Manipulating air the way we do requires a clear mind, a centered body, and a sound soul. Your son is having such a hard time because you're overbearing him with all your harsh rules, strict training, and impossible expectations that no thirteen year old should face! He's mastered all the other elements and fighting every style, and remarkably fast considering how old he is.

"My continuation of this conversation will be against young Konsei's wishes, but it needs to be done; lighten the load on his shoulders. The way you're shoving him into a life you people think is best for him isn't working. He barely has any friends. He doesn't know what it's like to be a kid. He doesn't know anything outside training for his quirk or doing homework besides the short amount of time he manages to scrape together to be with his only two friends he's been able to make in the thirteen years of his life he's experienced.

"Konsei will _never_ be able to master air manipulation if you continue to bear down on him the responsibilities you've buried him in alive." Tousei snapped back, his voice growing in volume as he spoke.

Hinote stood there frozen, like ice flowed in his veins, yet he couldn't feel more enraged than watching his son fail time and time again at air manipulation training. He was so enraged he couldn't get words to leave his throat to rip the monk into insignificant pieces.

"Konsei is at a point that he believes his source quirk registration is a mistake because he cannot manipulate air. If you were to back off for a while, let him breathe for the first time in his life since he turned four, then maybe, just maybe, his confidence in both himself and his training will give us the fruit we've been looking for and he'll be able to use his air manipulation. He was able to use it once but he doesn't remember it because it's not noticeable like all of the other elements." Tousei sighed, his tone low as he forced himself to relax. "I'm not asking you to stop everything, but to take several steps back and allowing him to live away from your rules and expectations. If I could, I'd take him back to China with me and live with us in the monastery to train with others that have the same quirk as myself, but I am not selfish and blind to realize that would worsen the situation. Think about what I've told you and make your decision based on what Konsei needs to fulfill his dreams and somehow meet your expectations."

With that, Tousei walked past Hinote, his gaze forward and resisting to stare at the dumbfounded look the redhead held. The only thing Tousei hoped was that he didn't make the mistake and talk to the hot blooded fool. He could only pray that things would work out in favor of Konsei and his sanity.

*#*#*

Izuku didn't feel like going straight back home to his and his mother's apartment straight away, nor did he actually feel like spending too much time with Bakugou, who always managed to break him from focusing on his studying. The two would talk about heroes and heroines instead of school work and Izuku didn't need that, not right now. He wanted a head start on their studies because he felt like he'd be far behind if he didn't.

After being at the library for three hours the green-haired child closed his eyes with a sigh and dropped his head on his open text book. No matter how many times he read the directions to figure out the math problem, he couldn't wrap his head around it. Math was his worst subject, which is why he finished studying what he could for the other subjects. He'd keep going, but now he was burned out and wanted to go home.

 _Home…_ Izuku thought gravely. The thought of home brought two images; the _home_ with Kaneki-sensei, and _**home**_ with his mother. Sure he was living with his mom again now that he was attending a normal school, but… he felt like he was just burdening his mother now that he thought about it. She seemed fine when he first came home. Crying onto his shoulder as she cried tears of what he believed to be joy while she clung to him like glue on paper.

Izuku _wanted_ to believe that coming home and going to Orudera middle school was the best choice for him. After what happened in class and in the teacher's lounge, he was starting to think that it was a bad idea even though he _knew_ something like that would happen no matter what he tried.

Turning his head to look out the window on his right, he noticed it was getting late. The bullet train home would soon stop for the night and he didn't want to worry his mom any more than he already has. He doesn't even remember if he sent her an email to let her know he'd come home late or not.

Today was _not_ Izuku's day, at all.

Just then, his phone beeped from his pants pocket, signaling that he got an email from either one of his friends, his mother, or Kaneki-sensei. As he sat up, he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his email. Of course, he should have known it'd be from his mother.

 **From: Mom  
To: Me**

 **Izukkun, where are you honey? I'm starting to worry since you didn't come home from school with Katsuki-kun. Especially from the way he acted when I asked how your first day of school was. Please let me know you're okay.**

Great, now Izuku felt like a horrible person… again. His mom deserved better.

 **From: Me**

 **To: Mom**

 **Everything's fine mom! I swear! I went to the library to focus on studying and getting ahead in case I fell behind on classwork. I forgot to email you about it and didn't realize it until a few minutes ago. I'll be home shortly. The library I'm at is down the street from Anteiku. If the train station closes before I can get there for some reason I'll let you know if I have to stay at Kaneki-sensei's for the night. Again I'm so sorry for not telling you mom.**

With that message sent, he shoved his phone in his pocket and started packing his text books and notebooks back into his backpack, only to receive a message instantly. When he pulled his phone out, he didn't expect the email he got.

 **From: Mom**

 **To: Me**

 **You're by Anteiku?! You can't come home tonight and you may need to call your school to let them know that because of where you are you won't be able to make it. The train station here is closed because of a villain attack and won't be open for a while. I'll call Kaneki-san for you to let him know you'll be staying for the night and I'll see about arranging for a taxi to bring you home tomorrow if the station doesn't open before the evening.**

It was just his luck. Not only was he stuck here, he didn't know how long he'd be STUCK in the city. This is what he gets for turning off all his notifications except for his mother.

Dread built up in Izuku's heart and body as he just dropped his phone on the table before leaning forward and letting his head follow. Hard. The sound of his forehead making contact with the wooden table echoed inside the library. He didn't stop at one, he repeatedly made his forehead hit the table as he tried to contemplate why he does what he does. Followed by a faint hint of "why do I exist anyway" at the back of his mind.

"If you do that you'll get a nasty bruise." Someone said, making Izuku stop hitting his head to look up and see who was talking to him. The first thing he saw was a mop of indigo?—purple?—blue?—hair and tired eyes that had more bags than his did.

"If I get a bruise it'll just heal in a few minutes." Izuku muttered before sitting up and slouching in his chair.

He didn't understand why tired-eyes stared at him after he responded. He almost felt like he did something wrong when the boy didn't respond for a few minutes.

"Um… sorry…" He muttered, his eyes drifting towards the floor awkwardly.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm not used to people responding to me is all…"

"Why wouldn't they? I don't see anything wrong with you. As far as I can see you could either be quirkless or, considering the bags under your eyes, your quirk could be no sleep or insomnia." Izuku said. "If it is, I kind of wish I had that quirk instead."

"May I sit here?" The boy asked, his head leaning towards the empty chair across from Izuku. Genuine shock was present in the boy's eyes that were miraculously the same color as his hair.

"Sure, I don't mind. It's not like I have to be anywhere too soon. The train station in my town is closed because of a villain attack so I'm stuck here in the city." Izuku nodded, he was happy someone wanted to sit with him, but that excitement vanished when he realized the other most likely didn't know what his quirk was.

"I'm Shinsou. Shinsou Hitoshi." The boy introduced as he casually sat down in the offered chair. Izuku smiled.

"I'm Midoriya Izuku, pleased to meet you." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Speaking of quirks, you were half right." Shinsou smiled. "I have a variation of no sleep from my dad called 'insomnia' and a variation of mind control from my mother called 'brainwash.' I hate the latter one though."

"Why would you hate such an amazing quirk! You could totally be a hero with something as amazing as that!" Izuku beamed, his eyes sparkling. Shinsou couldn't help but stare at him, eyes wide and a dropped jaw when Izuku continued to babble. "I mean, there's so much you can do with it! Like, stop villains from hurting people, making arrests simple so no one could get hurt, stopping a villain from getting too violent in crowded areas, you could even be an interrogator and make people spill confessions one after another—"

Izuku clamped his mouth shut and covered it with his hands. He had a habit of rambling and mumbling, and most of the time he didn't know he was doing it until he realized the person he was talking to stared at him with an incredulous look or started getting annoyed. Shinsou, on the other hand, had this shocked look in his eyes that was mingled with so many different emotions that Izuku wasn't sure if he insulted the other boy or not.

"Sorry, I ramble sometimes and don't realize I'm doing it." Izuku apologized quickly, only to get a shake of his head from his new friend, who gathered himself before speaking.

"It's not that. It's just… no one, and I mean _no one_ told me I could be a hero with that quirk. You're the first."

"Really?"

"Seriously."

"Wait… you said 'no sleep'… from your dad…?" Izuku asked as he started to piece together some puzzles inside his brain.

"Yeah. My dad's a doctor at the hospital on the other side of the city." Shinsou shrugged.

"Shin…" Izuku started saying before his jaw dropped. "You… You're Dr. Tired-eyes' son! I can't believe I'm talking with his son."

Shinsou didn't say anything, but he couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips.

"He saved my life when I was a kid!" Izuku proclaimed with a blank expression on his face. Shinsou couldn't help but look at him questionably.

"Are you sure? My dad helps kids at the age their quirks manifest."

"He had to make an emergency house visit when my quirk showed… I…" Izuku started saying, but he went silent and brought his gaze to the table. He didn't know if he should talk about his quirk with Shinsou. Afraid that if the boy knew what it was, he'd run off like everyone else—Konsei and Bakugou being the exceptions.

"What's your quirk? Can't be as bad as mine right?"

"It's worse, actually. I was serious when I said I'd rather have your quirk when I thought it was insomnia. At least then I… could be useful and not a burden to everyone. Heck, being quirkless is better than having the quirk I landed with." Izuku said, mostly to evade the question, but when Shinsou kept looking at him for an answer, he sighed heavily and added in a mutter, "you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"I promise." Shinsou nodded, he knew how hard it'd be if someone had a quirk that didn't fit the "good" spectrum of things first hand.

"My quirk… my quirk is called 'ghoul' and I'm a source quirk." Izuku muttered after thinking for a minute. He was going by a gut feeling when he told Shinsou his quirk, mostly because that gut feeling said he was trust worthy.

"So you're the one dad was talking about." Shinsou said.

Huh?

"Yeah, dad came home one day about that time looking defeated and cried the second he sat on the sofa, muttering about how one of his patients got their quirk in a devastating way but, because of his profession, couldn't say who it was other than what the quirk was. He wanted to quit his job, but somehow I managed to talk him into keeping his job by saying 'what about the other kids that get their quirks like him? they need someone like you to help them.' Anyway, I'm glad I met you."

When Izuku didn't speak, Shinsou wondered if something was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"I just… thought you'd run away when you learned what my quirk was. You're the only one, besides my only two friends I have that is, that didn't tell me to take a flying leap off a building or starve myself or be a villain because 'that's what my quirk's best for.'"

"What all does your quirk do to you for that kind of reaction?"

"I… my eyes turn black with red irises, I have four different kinds of kagune—which is a special organ those with the ghoul quirk have—that I can use as weapons or shields, my skin is extremely tough even though it doesn't look like it, I can regenerate and heal abnormally fast, and… I can't eat normal food."

"I'd like to see what these kagune are, by the way, they sound cool. But, what kind of food can you have if you can't have what everyone else does?" Shinsou asked, mostly out of pure curiosity and intrigue. "I promise, I won't run away. There are quirks out there where people have ingest blood in order to use their quirk. Nothing you say will scare me off."

"Well… to start… human food makes me sick. I can't eat it because it'll make me weak and violently ill. The only human substance I can actually have besides water is coffee—plain, black coffee—and the food I have to eat…" Izuku went quiet at the end, unable to get the words past his lips.

"My father always said, 'never judge someone by their quirk, but by how they use their quirk.' If that helps you, then you can continue, but I won't force it out of you." Shinsou said, and Izuku could have sworn he saw a small smile on the other boy's lips.

"I have to eat human flesh in order to survive. If I don't, I'll go rampant and cause a massacre. Luckily, I've been stopped before the latter has happened, but I nearly did once. I almost killed my two best friends because I was on the verge of starving and was horribly injured." Izuku muttered so only Shinsou could hear. "Like I said earlier, the food you eat makes me violently ill, when I first got this quirk, I was about to eat a celebratory dinner to celebrate the fact I wasn't quirkless because I got my quirk a few months late. One moment the food smelled amazing and then I took a bite only to have it feel like sandpaper covered leather in my mouth.

"To say I freaked out is an understatement. I royally freaked out after vomiting, especially when Kacchan pointed out my eyes were black and red… I hurt his mom… hurt my mom… I'm surprised they're still my friends."

"It wasn't your fault. Anybody would have freaked out if that happened to them." Shinsou said, which shocked Izuku because he thought he'd be insulted by now. "Let's trade contact info, I should be heading home soon. Dad's probably going to wonder why I haven't started dinner yet."

"Where's your mom?" Izuku asked as he picked his phone up and got it ready to trade info. Shinsou didn't answer until they held each other's phones together and the data was being sent.

"She works nights as an underground hero, sometimes with Eraserhead but most of it is solo missions." He answered. The data transferred and contacts shared to each other's phone. "Do you have a place to stay since you can't get home?"

"Yeah, my sensei from elementary school lives nearby." Izuku answered as they both stood and he swung his backpack over his shoulder. "He actually lives above the Anteiku café. Why don't you join me next time?"

"Are you sure? I heard about the Anteiku café and a lot of people think that only ghoul quirked people are allowed in there."

"Don't be silly! They allow anybody in their café! They accommodate to those with ghoul quirks and normal people no problem. In fact, there's a great take out place across the street from them so you can pick up dinner while you check the place out." Izuku beamed.

"Alright then, I'll email my father while we walk then." Shinsou smiled. "And you can call me Hitoshi if you want, having someone call me by my last name makes me feel like they're talking to my dad instead of me."

"Then you can call me Izuku, Hitocchan." He smiled, but Hitoshi blanched. "Don't worry, I call Katsuki, Kacchan and he's a guy… but then again I'm the only one allowed to call him that… Konsei-kun isn't even allowed to call him by 'Kacchan.'"

"Ha, sounds like your friend 'Kacchan' has a crush on you." Hitoshi laughed.

"He'd kill you if he heard you say something like that." Izuku noted as they walked out the library's front doors and turned to the left. They'd have to go through the park to get to Anteiku, but neither of them minded.

*#*#*

He ran and he ran, but no matter where Konsei ran he couldn't stop thinking about his asshole father and everything the man expects him to be able to do _before_ even being _allowed_ to actually use his quirk. The only reason why he hasn't been thrown in juvenile detention for the use of his quirk is because of his parents' influence and the fact that he's a source quirk and needs to have special training in order to fully control what he was born with so he doesn't hurt himself and other people.

While Konsei ran he lost track of the turns and twists he made in his anger fueled burst of energy he didn't think he'd have any more after manipulating five different elements in the span of two or three hours since he got home from school. He'd find it a miracle if he had the energy to study once he returned home, showered, and had dinner with his mother and his asshole of a father. He was so lost in his jumbled thoughts that he was unaware that someone wearing black jeans and a black hoodie was following him.

Konsei had ran for over an hour before he slowed to a stop to catch his breath and see where the hell he ended up running to. The buildings looked familiar, almost like he was just down the street from Anteiku at the park that he, Bakugou, and Izuku had started going to when Izuku moved in with Kaneki-sensei. But he didn't think that'd be possible. Anteiku is in the city, his mansion of a traditional style Japanese house lay on the far outskirts of town about half an hour train ride away.

"Fucking hell. I ran all the way to the city." Konsei laughed as he took the back of his right hand to his brow to wipe away sweat that was about to drip into his eyes. "Fuck, and I have to run back home because I forgot my wallet with my bus pass."

"Shirosaki Konsei. Age twelve. Quirk: Element Manipulation." Someone said behind Konsei, making him jump as he turned around to face someone that looked to be a few years older than him. Most likely in high school.

"How do you know about me?" Konsei asked, his feet sliding into a stance that was drilled into him from his grandmother with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands before him, palms facing the sky and elbows tucked in. If he was attacked, he was prepared to go at this person with everything he had, and there was plenty of earth and metal around him to manipulate to keep himself alive until a hero came along.

"Quirks are common knowledge, and anybody can find out about someone's quirk if they know how and where to look." The teen chuckled, his right hand reaching up to scratch at his neck for a moment before grabbing the hood to his jacket and lowering it. His dirty, faded red hair swaying slightly from being released from the confines of the hood and Konsei couldn't help but glare at the guy.

"What do you want with me?" Konsei snapped, his patience running thin the longer they spent in each other's company.

"I'm here to collect you for bounty. There's a large amount of money I can be paid if I sell you to the black market. Besides, there's a high demand for element quirks such as yourself." The guy smirked. "Now come with me quietly. I don't want to use force and damage high priced goods such as yourself."

"Like hell I'd go with you." Konsei hissed when the man started running towards him, arms down by his sides and hands ready to grab at him. Before the man got too close, he shot his left hand forward, extending it while he twisted his hand, curling the fingers slightly, and thrusting his palm outward, causing rocks to jut out of the ground rapidly towards the guy only for him to dodge it like it was nothing.

"The rumors are true. You are related to the Water Queen and the Fire King." The man chuckled, cracking his neck and shoulders before he dashed towards Konsei again.

This time, Konsei slid his left foot forward, pushing forward with both hands in fists before pulling them back slightly and thrusting them forward with his hands open, palms down and three pillars of earth shot forward, catching his would-be-abductor in the stomach, chest, and head. Sending the red head flying backwards with a thud and gasps for air.

"I'm not related, they are my mentors." Konsei half lied. It was easy to lie about his relation with his dad, but it hurt when he lied about his mom. "Now are you still willing to continue this or are you going to give up?"

"I'm just getting started." The guy grinned before standing up and charging once more, but this time he was faster than the last two attempts, throwing Konsei off guard. Before he knew it, the teen was already touching his face, his fingers digging into Konsei's right eye socket and ripped it out in a single pull. Nails had scratched at his other eye, making it impossible to see.

*#*#*

A blood curling scream could be heard from where Izuku and Hitoshi stood. About two blocks away from the park. Hitoshi immediately pulled his phone out and called in the emergency. Izuku, on the other hand, ran towards the scream. He heard this scream once before when he was going to Konsei's house for a sleepover… that night Konsei's father burned his chest with two-degree burns in the middle of a sparring match when they were seven when Konsei messed up on a defensive move.

When Izuku reached the park—much faster than Hitoshi because he activated his ukaku after abandoning his backpack where Hitoshi could pick it up for him.

"Konsei!" Izuku yelled and shot out black crystals towards the redhead. To his horror, the man jumped out of the way with speed that matched his and landed about ten meters away from Konsei. Izuku slid to a stop in front of his friend, back to Konsei who was kneeling on the ground with a hand over his eyes that bled. Blood stank the entire area and it was making Izuku's stomach growl because he hadn't had dinner yet.

"Oh! You're the same as me!" The redhead laughed.

"What?" Izuku asked, but he didn't need to. He could see the black sclera and the red irises from where he stood. He just didn't want to believe it.

"I took a little gift from your friend. It's the first thing I've eaten in about a week, so I hope you don't mind." The man said, showing the eye he took from Konsei and popped it in his mouth like a cherry tomato. Izuku's blood boiled.

"You monster!" Izuku screeched, his left foot moving forward but he was stopped when a bloodied hand grabbed his wrist. "Konsei! Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. This asshole is mine. You can't get involved or you'll get arrested for vigilantism. Besides, he thinks he weakened me and thinks I can't fight with sight. I'll finish this." Konsei snapped and stood.

"Let me at least—"

"No, the bleeding has slowed and if I keep calm it won't get worse. Just stand about three paces1 behind me." Konsei said as he stood. Hand gripping Izuku's wrist tightly. "I've been training for nine years ya know. This is nothing compared to my training."

Izuku didn't want to step back and let his injured friend fight. It didn't matter that he'd been training for moments like this. He was blinded! Worse, he'd never get his right eye back and it's most likely that whatever injury he got to his second eye would be just as bad. It hurt to know that what Konsei said was true about the possibility of him being arrested. Hell, he could be just because he fired off his ukaku to put distance between his friend and the asshole.

Even so, Izuku let his ukaku recede back into his back. His school uniform torn and unable to be repaired. But that didn't matter. With a sigh, Izuku turned his attention back to the redhead that decided to stand idly to see what would happen. His glare fixed on the asshole, Izuku did what Konsei requested and took three paces back behind Konsei. From the corner of his eye he could see Hitoshi still on the phone with one hand and his backpack in the other. He wonders if Hitoshi would get in trouble if he used his quirk to stop the jerk before Konsei got even more injured.

"You're shitting me! You're going to fight me while bleeding and blind. Why won't you have your friend take over for you? Oh well, either way this ends I think I'll be taking two prizes with me tonight." The red head laughed and cracked his neck and shoulders. "Don't cry when I run you dry of your fighting energy."

With a cry, the red head shot forward. His pace fast. But Konsei was ready for him. He quickly got into his stance and slid his left foot forward. His hands thrusting out two times in fists and once more with his hands open and facing the redhead. When he heard a resounding thud of earth making contact with his opponent, Konsei brought his left foot back, put his palms facing down and lifted a large piece of earth as he brought his hands up. He sent it flying when he pushed forward with his palms facing forward.

"Fuck!" The redhead screamed just before the flying piece of rock collided with him. Sending him back about twenty paces from where he originally stood from the last attack.

"Konsei." Izuku said loud enough for only him to hear. "Don't respond until I tell you to."

Konsei wanted to ask what he was talking about, but he kept his comments to himself as he readied for another attack. He had been aware that someone else was here but they were still about thirty yards away and walking at a slow pace towards the fight. In the distance, there were sirens heading towards them but Konsei couldn't put his guard down. Not yet.

" **Hey, what's going on here?"** Konsei heard someone ask. The person that was creeping towards them, he noted.

"Shit." The redhead hissed once he got his bearings and went to stand, but his whole body went rigid. This confused Konsei until he realized what Izuku was talking about. The person that just spoke must have a quirk that can stop someone if they respond.

" **Good, now stay there until I say you're allowed to move again."** Hitoshi ordered and stopped about ten yards away from the fight to make sure he didn't get too close.

To make sure this person's order stayed, Konsei leaned forward as he slid his left foot back out again and raised his fists, causing the earth to rise and trap the attacker, forcing the redhead to stand but be bound by the earth in case the other's quirk stopped working.

"Okay, we're good Konsei." Izuku sighed in relief and rushed over. "What all did he do to you besides take your right eye?"

"He scratched my left one, but it's not bad and will heal just fine." Konsei answered, his breaths coming quick and short. He wanted to go to sleep. The long run he did and having to fight without getting too much rest had exhausted him. He'd collapse if it weren't for the buzz going through his mind.

"I'm calling your mother." Izuku offered, but before Konsei could tell him no he was already on the phone. The police screeching to a halt at the park entrance before storming in. A hero that followed jumped down from a nearby roof.

"Who is the attacker and who isn't?" A male voice asked, the tone low and dragging.

"The one that's trapped in earth is the attacker. The one standing about ten meters to the asshole's right helped me stop him so I could confine him. He's got a ghoul quirk." Konsei told him. His head was spinning. He'd probably have blurred vision but he didn't want to try and open his left eye. The sounds he was hearing were mixing into one, throbbing stab into his head but he stopped relying on sound once he finished answering the hero's question and relied on his quirk to see. He didn't release the attacker from his confinement until the police surrounded him with their restraints. He not only released the attacker, but he also fixed the park where he damaged the ground for his attacks.

"Konsei, your mom's on her way here." Izuku said as he grabbed onto his shoulders. "They have him, please relax."

"I'm tired…" Konsei whispered, his body shutting down as he lost his grip on staying conscious.

* * *

 **Author's End Note:**

 **Hey guys! It ended up being my short chapter! There's one more chapter before the polls close and I decide if Izuku gets One For All or not so don't forget to let me know in your reviews!**

 **To let you know about the next chapter so you can have something to expect, it will continue where I left off from this chapter. I don't like leaving people hanging so early in the story!**

 **Anyway, love you guys and thank you so much for all the reviews you're giving me! I seriously didn't think I'd get so many with the first two chapters to be honest.**

 **Well, until next time! R + R + F + F!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish this and give it to you guys, but it took me a little while before my hand would let me type the way I normally do comfortably. But, the good news is that I didn't break anything or tear anything in my thumb and only sprained it! So there's the good news!**

 **On the news I need to tell ya! I've officially decided to give Izuku OFA just because I think that, with his regeneration abilities he'll be able to use it better than in the show, and he'll know more about how to work with OFA in this fan fiction than in the show because, as stated in both the anime and manga, All Might was looking for someone with a quirk already and it'd give that person a super hero status. Izuku, I believe, will fill the role perfectly.**

 **Now, because this chapter is a continuation from the previous chapter, it may be a bit short compared to the previous upload, I'm not sure… my brain may come up with something to make it as long as possible. I like long chapters when I write and only make short ones if they are extremely necessary.**

 **Anyway, on with the story! I hope you guys like what I'm doing to our Dekkun, and that you guys like Konsei as much as I do.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Tough Decisions

Izuku wanted to cry. Especially when he called Bakugou while he waited in the ER at Tatooin General Hospital with Hitoshi, Kaneki-sensei, and Konsei's parents. He felt useless and knew that the police were going to arrest both him and Hitoshi sooner or later for throwing themselves into the fight when it's against the law to do so.

 _But what was he supposed to do? Watch one of his three friends get killed while he stood there?_ No, Izuku knew that he had to do something. That was why he rushed in there and separated the two to try and get Konsei away from the attacker, now identified as Ryunosuke Shin, ghoul quirk; koukaku kagune.

Kaneki-sensei had told Izuku how lucky his friend was that Shin didn't use his full strength because the koukaku kagune is strong, durable, and would have crushed him. But Izuku had reassured him that Konsei had much more going for him and knew the reason why Konsei fought the way he did. Izuku knew that he'd have to explain his answer, but he'd have to ask Konsei for permission. Kaneki left it at that.

"Kaneki-sensei…" Izuku whispered, his gaze low.

"Yes Midoriya-kun?"

"Is it normal to feel useless?"

"Why do you say that?" Kaneki asked, his eyes widened slightly.

"I couldn't do anything to help him, all because I don't have a hero license. It's wrong to just stand there and watch your friend, who's hurting and bleeding, fight because you weren't there with them when it started." Izuku said, voice straining as he talked. "Hitocchan doesn't even know Konsei yet he was able to help. Eraserhead didn't even berate him for using his quirk to stop that villain."

"Izu—" Hitoshi started saying but was stopped when a doctor called out for the party waiting on Konsei.

"How is he?" Konsei's mother, Mei, asked as the nurse stopped in front of them with a small smile on her face. "We need to know if he'll be alright."

"Konsei will be just fine, his left eye was only slightly damaged with a small nick but it's not the same for his right eye. It was ripped right out of its socket. He'll have to either have a donation or get a glass eye." The doctor answered. "There may be a slight blur in his vision when he gets his sight back in his left eye but that'll go away after a few days. Right now he's sleeping because of exhaustion."

"Thank goodness." Mei sobbed. Hinote remained silent.

"Um… doctor…" Izuku spoke up, but his voice shook as he stood from where he sat.

"Yes?"

"I… I can donate one of my eyes for Konsei."

"But… wait. Why would…" The doctor sputtered.

"My quirk is 'ghoul' and regeneration is part of the package." Izuku told him. "It'll just take overnight to get my eye back is all."

"Um… well… considering the uniform you have on you're still in school, correct?" The doctor asked when he got his bearings.

"Middle school."

"Technically, you're underage and you'd need to have a parent or guardian sign a waiver for you to have such a serious surgery."

"But… I live half an hour train ride from the city. And the station at home is out because of a villain attack. Can it be emailed or faxed?" Izuku asked, his confidence he had fading fast. Tears threatening to build up and fall from his eyes.

"I'm his temporary guardian." Kaneki spoke up. "I am a ghoul quirk instructor and had been watching over him for three years as his guardian. Would my signature work?"

"I…"

"I'll have your mother picked up, Izukkun, if you'd like." Mei offered. "It's the least the two of us can do for all the help you've given us. In fact. I know exactly who can help bring your mother here within a few minutes. I just have to get ahold of her real quick to see if she's busy."

"That would be wonderful." The doctor smiled. "It'd be best to have her signature, no offence Kaneki-san. It's just the possibility of the legal gray area and all. Sometimes the paperwork gets too confusing and I don't want to cause you trouble if someone complains about it later."

"That's alright." Kaneki told him with a light scratch on his left cheek. "I just need to tell you what all Izuku-kun will need after surgery."

When Mei got on her cell phone, Izuku did the same. Calling his mother and telling her to be ready so the hero Mei's calling can pick her up and bring her to the hospital.

"Can she… this hero you mentioned, Mei-san… pick up Kacchan also?" Izuku asked when he finished his conversation with his mom.

"Of course, I bet he's blowing his house up right now with how worried he is." Mei smiled and continued her conversation with the hero on the other end of the line.

"If your mother signs the paperwork tonight, Midoriya-kun, the surgery can happen within the next twelve hours before young Shirosaki heals too much for it to work." The doctor said. "Which means we'll start getting you ready the second the paperwork's signed."

"Are you sure you want to do this Izuku?" Hitoshi asked.

"I'm sure… I want to at least help with something. Besides, if I eat after I wake up I'll regrow my eye much sooner than overnight."

"Ah." The doctor said when a beep sound came from his pocket. "Shirosaki-kun is awake now and anybody can visit, just don't do more than two at a time please. I'm going to go look after another patient and get the paperwork Midoriya-san will need to sign when she gets here."

"Thank you, doctor." Hinote sighed and received the room information before the doctor walked away.

"They'll be here within a couple of minutes." Mei smiled.

"That fast?" Izuku gaped.

"Of course." Mei beamed.

"Ha?! Don't tell me! It's the Space Manipulator Hero: Miss Flash!" Izuku beamed back, eyes sparkling.

"The teleportation lady herself. I had to work with her recently and she has a wonderful personality! She does eat too much ramen, but she's just as sweet as can be… and sometimes has a foul mouth like Katsuki-kun."

There was a resounding pop in the air and a small puff of smoke before Bakugou's temper lashed out. That was faster than Izuku ever thought possible!

"Deku you fucking piece of work! Where are you?" Bakugou roared as he stepped out of the clearing smoke. "I'm going to blow you to the fucking moon for getting yourself stuck here!"

"Kacchan! Stop yelling! This is a hospital!" Izuku hissed, finger poised over his mouth as he tried to quiet his explosive friend.

"Izuku!" Inko called out and he rushed forward. "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt."

"We're going to head on back and see Konsei for a little bit." Mei smiled. "And thank you Miss Flash, for bringing them here."

"No problem!" The blonde woman beamed, her sky-blue eyes sparkling and toothy smile wide. "I owe you a lot from our last assignment anyway and I like Konsei. I hope he feels better. I can't stay long because I was called in as I was picking up Sassy McSplode over there."

"What did you call me you hag?" Bakugou shrieked as he turned her direction. His attention no longer set on blowing Izuku sky high. Not anymore.

"Ja ne1!" Miss Flash smiled brightly and vanished in a puff of smoke and a popping sound.

"Calm down Katsuki-kun!" Inko pleaded. "We're in a hospital!"

"How the fuck am I supposed to calm down if I don't know how Konsei is doing?" Bakugou snapped, mostly at Izuku because he wouldn't dare do so to his friend's mother.

"Konsei's doing fine; just has a scratched eye, exhaustion, and… a missing eye. The villain that attacked him was a ghoul-quirk user apparently…" Izuku said, muttering by the end as he avoided to look Bakugou in the eye. He couldn't get himself to.

"What?" Bakugou blinked.

"Yeah… but everything will be okay now! The doctor said that if mom signs the paperwork, I can donate one of my eyes."

"Huh? What—What are you talking about Izuku?" His mom gaped. "But you can't do that!"

"Mom… having the ghoul quirk isn't just about a change in diet… they also have enhanced strength, senses, amazingly fast regeneration, and we're also faster than most unless they have a speed enhancing quirk. That's excluding the ukaku, bikaku, rinkaku, and koukaku that a ghoul-quirk user can have." Izuku explained, his voice low so others in the ER wouldn't hear him talking about his quirk. He still hated how people stared at him when his eyes went black or the fact that they learned his specific diet because they had to.

"But what if you can't control yourself when you wake up?"

"I'll be fine, Kaneki-sensei is making sure I'll have something to eat when I wake up."

"Just tell your mom why you want to do this, deku." Bakugou sighed, knowing how Izuku feels and decided to keep his tongue civil for once. Just this once.

"But Kacchan—"

"But nothing you stupid, fucking Deku! Just tell her already! Sheesh."

"Fine! I'm doing this because I want to at least do something to help him! It felt wrong because I couldn't do anything but stand there when Konsei had to fight the asshole while blinded and bleeding! There! You happy now?" Izuku screeched before bolting in the other direction and headed outside. He hoped no one would follow him as he ran to the nearest, tallest tree he could find and hopped up using the speed given to him from his quirk.

He hoped they wouldn't find him until it was time for his mom to sign the paperwork.

*#*#*

"Now I know it's procedure to fast before being put under anesthesia, but those with a ghoul quirk can typically be put under at any time. We aren't generally affected by the anesthesia's aftereffects, per say." Kaneki explained to the doctor, who had kindly allowed him to talk in his office before he gave Inko the paperwork to sign. The doctor wanted to know everything he can as soon as possible before asking her to sign anything.

"But you'll still be put under?…"

"Yes, it just goes through about two times faster than normal." Kaneki nods.

"Then we may need to triple the dose, only because of what we have to do in order to safely remove his eye with the optic nerve intact."

"If I may ask… what was the extent of damage in Konsei's eye?"

"The eye was ripped right out of his socket, optic nerve tore clean out with it and also tore a few muscles that are attached to the eye that help with movements and such. It's a miracle that he didn't lose more than a hundred milliliters to be honest."'

"Well, you see, Konsei has a special quirk. I'm not sure if you're able to access those records, but I cannot explain it myself. His parents will have to do so… sorry I can't explain more on the matter."

"It's alright. They've already let me know he's a source quirk… and a very special one at that." The doctor nodded. "Now, how much food will Midoriya-kun need when he wakes up from surgery?"

"About…" Kaneki said before pausing. "He's eating about fifteen hundred grams three times a day… and he's had lunch… about three kilograms should do it since he hasn't had dinner yet. As you said, it's a serious surgery, and from the sounds of it you'll have a lot of work to do."

"Alright, I'll make sure that it is ready the second he wakes up. I've actually seen what happens when someone with a ghoul quirk is injured badly or wakes up from surgery without proper care… I feel quite bad for you guys actually…"

"No need for that, please." Kaneki said with a small wave of his hand. "I'll go let Izuku know that you're ready for his mom to sign the papers."

"Thank you for your insight, Kaneki-san." The doctor nodded, his clipboard of paperwork ready and waiting in his hands as they left the office.

*#*#*

"So, you're this… 'Kacchan' Izuku mentioned earlier… He never said you had a horrible personality and a foul mouth. Are you sure you're his friend?" Hitoshi sighed when they watched Izuku run off. He was in the position to see that his new friend climb a tree nearby so at least he knew where to look when they needed to get him.

"What did you fucking call me tired-eyes?" Bakugou hissed, the palm of his right-hand smoking slightly. "And who the fuck are you anyway?"

"The name's Shinsou Hitoshi. Met Izuku at the library and we kind of became friends as we talked." Hitoshi shrugged.

"Did you help Konsei?"

"Yes?"

"Then there's no need to blow you sky high, for now." Bakugou sighed and threw himself gracelessly into a chair a few seats away, hands deep in his pockets. Izuku's mother sat between the two, worried where her son could have run off to but wanted to give him space.

"Midoriya-san?" The doctor called out.

"Yes?" She replied, standing from her chair and took a few steps forward.

"I have the paperwork for you to sign for Midoriya-shounen."

"Oh, thank you… could you explain the surgery to me before I sign? I just want to know what all will and could happen to Izuku during and after the surgery." Inko nodded, her voice shaking as she spoke.

While the adults spoke, Hitoshi stood. Stretching before he walked away to go outside. It was time to get Izuku and bring him inside. He just wasn't expecting Bakugou to follow close to his heels.

"Why are you following me?" Hitoshi sighed as he stopped and turned just before going out the second set of automatic doors that separated them from the outside.

"To get Deku just like you are. I'm not stupid."

"Deku?"

"It's a little nickname I gave Izuku… and I'm the only one allowed to call him that so don't even think about using it, tired-eyes."

"Hmm… "deku"… **isn't that an insult?** " Hitoshi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because he can't do anything without either Konsei or me. Once he can do something for himself all the time then I'll stop calling him Deku." Bakugou explained, though he doesn't know why. "What the fuck did you do to make me answer you tired eyes?"

"It's one of my quirks; brainwashing." He snickered when he stopped at the tree Izuku climbed a little bit ago. "Hey! Izuku! Your mom and the doctor are talking. Lets go inside."

With a leap, Izuku dropped from the tallest branch that could still hold his weight and landed on his feet between the two, making Hitoshi blink at him and Bakugou sigh.

"Wait… wasn't that, like, a thirty foot drop!?" Hitoshi shrieked.

"Yeap, and it doesn't bother me like most, remember? It's because of my quirk. And if it does injure me I heal up in less than five minutes." Izuku answered. "And this time it didn't hurt! Kacchan!"

"Yeah, yeah, get inside you deku. She might be signing that paperwork now." Bakugou sighed when Izuku jumped up and beamed at him with bright, sparkly eyes and a broad smile. It had taken Izuku three years to land from that height and not injure himself too much. The side training that the three of them did was starting to pay off, especially for Izuku's sake. The memory of what happened with that weirdo when they were playing 'hide and seek' made his blood boil every time he reminded himself why he and Konsei were trying to help Izuku learn to defend himself properly.

Bakugou just hoped that they were doing the right thing and that it'd give Izuku more confidence in both himself and in becoming a hero.

* * *

 **End note: Yes, I know I've ended this chapter way too short compared to the others before it, but like I mentioned in the Author's note above; this is a continuation of the last chapter. The next chapter is being worked on now and should be up shortly! It will also be a lot longer than this one and back to the usual length so I hope I can earn everyone's forgiveness for such a long departure and a weak return.**

 **Please tell me if I'm doing okay with my third person… I think omniscient? It's new to me and half the time I feel like I'm doing something wrong—insert sweat drop here. Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter and await the next one!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Hey everybody! The fifth chapter is finally here and better than I anticipated! I absolutely loved writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed while working on it. And to let everyone know, this chapter doesn't have an official title to it. I couldn't think of something that would fit.**

 **Now, to answer some questions that I noticed in my reviews:**

 **Darkness in Shadowland: Izuku will have both eyes that turn instead of one, and for this story's purpose, Kaneki's eyes will both change as well instead of just one.**

 **exillion: I know right? I thrive on dark stuff like this.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Izuku felt like giving up, mostly because of what happened last week at the hospital. At first everything was going great; Konsei was healing with the transplanted eye from Izuku like it was nothing, then suddenly that miracle turned into a disaster. Not only did Konsei get seriously sick, but the transplant given to Konsei by Izuku himself was the cause of it and had to be immediately removed. No one could understand why this was; Kaneki-sensei tried to explain that it's possible it happened as so because Izuku's a source quirk, but not even he could give a definite answer.

Three days after the failure, Yoshimura himself stopped by the Midoriya residence with Kaneki to have a talk with Izuku and see how he was doing, but he didn't want to see anybody. In the end, Yoshimura and Kaneki talked to him through his bedroom door. Yoshimura explained that the surgery didn't succeed because he was a source quirk. It had taken him a few days to find the evidence needed to come up with a conclusion when he was presented with the situation from Kaneki, and with his many resources it was found relatively fast. But even so, this news didn't lighten up Izuku's mood or get rid of the dark, ominous cloud over his head that dampened his spirits. Both Yoshimura and Kaneki left with heavy hearts an hour later after talking with Inko and to have her contact either of them if things escalated to the worst and if he were to possibly stop eating again. She assured them that even though Izuku locked himself away in his room all the time, he only came out to use the bathroom and eat. They were happy to hear that, but worried it'd stop if things didn't change.

Not even Bakugou could cheer Izuku up nor get him to leave his room to come to school or spend time with either him or Konsei. It was especially hard to get him to respond when Konsei was with him; they got nothing but silence as an answer for everything.

To say Bakugou was pissed is an understatement, which is why he's now storming up to Izuku's apartment after school, feet stomping on the floor until he stopped in front of his friend's bedroom. Without remorse or holding back, he blew Izuku's bedroom door off its hinges and into splinters. Causing the boy on the other side to screech and get up from his computer desk to hide underneath his bed.

"Deku you fucking piece of trash! Get out from under there!" Bakugou roared as he stomped over to the bed. He may be a hot-headed firecracker and blew up his friend's bedroom door, but he wasn't stupid enough to blow the bed up. "Get out here so I can talk to you properly dumbass!"

"I won't come out!" Izuku cried out, hands covering his head as he tried to make use of the small space. "Not if you're going to kill me!"

"I won't kill you ya stupid deku! I just want to talk to you!"

"Well I don't believe you because you blew my door up!"

"It's your fault! I wouldn't have had to break it down if you didn't lock yourself in here like some sniveling ass crybaby for a week over something that wasn't your fault."

"How was it not my fault?" Izuku yelled back, only for their argument to stop short when someone stepped heavily into his room, causing both boys to pause and Bakugou turning to see who walked in.

"Katsuki… when I said we needed to talk to Midori I wasn't saying we had to traumatize him with your explosive personality by blowing his home apart." Konsei snapped, an ominous feeling radiating from him as he spoke made Bakugou freeze and Izuku tense with his hands over his mouth. A mad Kacchan was one thing, a livid Konsei was another being all on its own and even Bakugou was terrified of it.

Sighing, Konsei's mood lightened a bit as he reached up and scratched at the bandages over his right eye. This was _not_ how he wanted to talk to Izuku, but even he couldn't be mad too long because he was on the verge of doing what Bakugou did himself… except in a less violent way.

"Come on Izuku, we're not going to hurt you and we're not mad at you." Konsei assured as he walked over to Bakugou and dragged him away from the bed, ignoring the protests coming from his friend's mouth under his breath.

"Are… are you sure?" Izuku asked, his voice barely above a whisper but the room was silent enough they could hear a pin drop.

"We're positive." Konsei answered as he sank down to look under the bed and give Izuku a reassuring smile. Without another word, he reached out with a hand and helped Izuku out from under the bed.

Neither of them were expecting to see Izuku so pale and with deep, dark circles underneath his eyes. It made their skin crawl and bristle when Izuku sat down on the bed.

"Have you stopped eating again, Izuku?" Konsei asked, Bakugou was too busy gawking and turning an light on. Without getting an answer, they finally took notice with how dark his bedroom had been.

"No… I've been eating. It's just… I've made it so no light could be in here besides from my computer." Izuku muttered. "And I hadn't been sleeping well so…"

"Deku, you know you've been making your mom worry as well as Kaneki-san and Yoshimura? Bakugou sighed, hands buried deep in his pockets as he stepped closer to the bed. "We've been worried too, stupid."

"I… I'm sorry. I just—I just needed some time alone to think. And I didn't think I could ever face you again, Konsei, when I failedyetagaintohelpyouandI—"

"Hey." Konsei said loudly, hands on Izuku's shoulders as he tried to keep his friend from making himself hyperventilate. "Who said you failed to help me?"

"There wasn't anything I could do to help you when you were in that fight without getting myself arrested and I couldn't even help you get your eye back and almost killed you because of it."

"Well, that's all in the past now, isn't it?" Konsei asked, Bakugou uncharacteristically quiet because he knew Konsei could calm Izuku better than he could.

"But—"

"Nope." Konsei interrupted, making the "p" sound loud with a pop as he straightened up and crossed his arms. "Now lets go, we're thinking about going to Anteiku for a little while and study."

"Have you had lunch yet?" Bakugou asked. "I'm not taking you anywhere unless you've had lunch."

"No… I haven't. But I was about to when Kacchan barged into my room."

"Then go eat, and clean up, you smell like you haven't showered in a while." Konsei sighed, him and Bakugou stepping aside as Izuku rushed out to shower before eating lunch.

"I'll use my allowance to pay for a new door." Bakugou sighed as he looked at the damage he caused with Izuku's bedroom door. Wincing at the tiny splinters that littered the hard wood floor. "I'm gonna go get the broom and dust pan." And with that, Bakugou left the room, tossing his backpack onto Izuku's bed.

It didn't take long for both Konsei and Bakugou to clean up the mess of splinters and large chunks of wood by the time Izuku was cleaned up and back in his room to get dressed. Already looking a lot better than before but still weary about being around his two best friends. He didn't talk much or look their way when they walked out to go to the kitchen. Leaving Izuku alone to get dressed without prying eyes and leaving him alone in his thoughts to sort through by himself.

Izuku felt like he should have known that what he did in the past week was stupid. Just like believing that Konsei would hate him was stupid. Felt like he should have known better the whole time, yet the nagging voice in the back of his head, his consciousness, kept telling him otherwise. At first it was a whisper when it started, then it grew like a fester. Infecting his every waking thought with degrading, hateful words that he couldn't help but to believe since he was alone with no one to say otherwise. It made his heart drop to his stomach, knowing that he had been irrational and hateful towards not only Konsei, Bakugou, and his own mother, but to Yoshimura and Kaneki-sensei. They had gone out of their way to do research and reassure him that nothing was his fault, yet he ignored every single word that came from them.

 _I have to make it up to them… somehow…_

"Hey, Izuku… I can't find any of your packages in the fridge or the freezer." Konsei called out from the kitchen as Izuku finished dressing in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, dark green socks covering his cold feet, and a towel over his wet hair.

 _No meat?... I should have something… and I was supposed to have a package come in by now._

"That can't be right… I thought my mom said a package came in the other day with my food." He called out, but he wasn't entirely sure himself. Most of the week was such a blur that he doesn't remember what he did besides sit at his computer and watch video's of All Might.

"There's nothing." Bakugou reassured him. "I don't like this… Let's just head to Anteiku. Kaneki-san will be able to look into it I'm sure."

"Maybe… I should call okaa-san."

"Isn't she at work?" Konsei asked, an eyebrow raising as he turned and closed the fridge.

"Yeah, but this is important. I'm not supposed to run out of food before the next delivery. It's clearly stated in the contract that all meals will be provided within seventy-two hours before we're supposed to run out. I ate the bare minimum all week because I felt like I would throw up everything so there should have definitely been something for me to have lunch and dinner at least." Izuku reassured, moving to the house phone by the television and picked up the receiver. Quickly he dialed his mom's cell phone, hoping she'd answer on the first try.

"Do you think something happened and they messed up on his delivery times?" Konsei whispered.

"If that's the case, Kaneki-san will definitely be pissed off." Bakugou sighed. "Anyway, I'm going to go pack his school crap so we can leave the second he's off the phone."

"Alright…"

"Okay guys. Okaa-san's going to meet us at Anteiku."

"Izuku… you said you ate the bare minimum this past week… that means you should have gotten that package four days ago." Konsei said, having been quiet the last few minutes to think. "I mean, just think for a second. Your last delivery was on the seventh last month right?"

"I think." Izuku nodded with a small, conflicting shrug. "But today's the fifteenth, so I should have had it more than four days ago, more like… a whole week ago."

"Did any neighbor complain about a package of refrigerated meat be delivered to them?"

"No, the people that work in this company are discreet and they don't just leave packages like that. You have to sign for them and even there they check ID's. Because of my quirk, I have a special ID that lets people know what my quirk is and what I eat so I don't get sick and so they can contact the right people if I were to get hurt and go rampant or from starving and try to kill everybody in sight." Izuku said, shaking his head a bit while tapping the tip of his finger on his chin. "So, like I said, they make sure the person getting the package is a ghoul-quirk user, so mess-ups like that never happen."

"Alright, take your backpack you nerd. We're leaving." Bakugou said when he emerged from the hallway, his own backpack slung onto his shoulders and his right hand holding Izuku's backpack before tossing it to him. "The train leaves in fifteen minutes and I want to get on before it gets too crowded."

With solemn nods, they left Izuku's apartment, sliding their feet into their shoes and Izuku locking the door as they left. Making a quick stop to Bakugou's apartment to tell his parents he'll be home late and that he's going to Anteiku with them before they depart.

Everything was quiet; neither of the three talked as they walked to the train station. No one talked when they scampered onto the train. No one talked when they got off the train and worked their way towards Anteiku. Izuku had tried to remember the beginning of last week when he was supposed to get the package, but his mind was completely blank because he had been so out of it and not paying attention to himself or his surroundings. He did, though, remember Kaneki-sensei and Yoshimura making a stop to his apartment and that they had asked his mom if he was skipping his meals. She denied it, because he truly hadn't been skipping his meals. Even though he was eating a little less than he should, he refused to miss a single meal in fear that he would hurt someone. He was sure that his mom would have noticed before now too, but she could have been just as distracted by Izuku locking himself away and having no contact with anybody unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. A wave of guilt washed over him and his shoulders slumped forward slightly at the thought that something else was his fault when they finally made it to Anteiku.

"Izuku-kun, Konsei-kun, Bakugou-kun!" A familiar voice called out, making Izuku's head lift just enough to see that it was Kaneki calling out to them. He looked genuinely surprised, but happy, that Izuku was finally out of his room and spending time with his friends again despite his own exhausted appearance.

"Kaneki-sensei… we… I have a problem. Okaa-san's on her way, but I need to talk to you before she gets here." Izuku said before any more words could leave Kaneki's mouth. "And I wanna talk alone."

"We'll be in meeting room three when you're done Izuku." Konsei said, a hand resting on his right shoulder to give it a tight squeeze before him and Bakugou went inside first.

"Alright—"

"I want Yoshimura there too. It's something serious… and…"

"It's alright, and Yoshimura's already here. I was going to have a meeting with him anyway, but it looks like this is more serious than what the two of us need to talk to me about. So let's head on inside and I'll meet you there." Kaneki said, cutting Izuku off before he could start rambling. It was apparent at how fidgety he was that something was not right.

"I… I need something to eat, Kaneki-sensei." Izuku muttered, his head low and his bangs hiding his eyes that had started to turn as the two talked, his hunger becoming more obvious the more he thought about it.

"Didn't you eat before leaving home?"

"That's the problem." Izuku snapped. He wasn't good at keeping himself in check, and sometimes he couldn't control his emotions when it got to this point. Just like he didn't notice when Kaneki flinched away from him.

No other words were spoken between the two as they went inside.

"Touka-chan, two pots of coffee and a bento." Kaneki called out as he and Izuku walked to the 'STAFF ONLY' door. And with a nod from her, they disappeared upstairs.

"You aren't starving yourself again are you Izuku?" Kaneki asked, not turning to look at the boy as they climbed the stairs. Afraid that if he tried to make eye contact with Izuku he'll close himself off even more than he already was. But that wasn't all, he was afraid that if he turned to look at Izuku, the boy would notice that something was off with him. So he kept his gaze forward.

"No" was all Izuku said as they made it to the second floor and turned to the office door. Kaneki opening the door with one hand as the other rested over Izuku's backpack and on his shoulder as they stepped in, hand shaking at the contact.

"Yoshimura-san, change of plans. We have other things that need our priority right now." Kaneki said when the door was closed. "And Touka-chan's coming up with a bento and coffee in a few."

"Alright." The old man said with a small nod. Waiting patiently as Izuku hesitated to take a seat in one of the armchairs and putting his backpack next to his chair while Kaneki took the other side of the couch with Yoshimura.

"I… well… as you know this past week I've been somewhat out of it in a self-deprecating and degrading way by locking myself in my room and barely coming out… And I'm sorry for how I treated you then… it was uncalled for." Izuku started before chewing on his bottom lip for a moment. "But… my mom and I didn't notice until today that I never got my delivery I was supposed to get last week."

"Wait… last week? You've been without food for that long?" Kaneki asked, his voice loud and causing Izuku to flinch away.

"No. I swear, I've been eating every day, just not as much as I should have. I get stomach aches when I'm depressed and upset and I felt like I was going to throw up if I ate the amount of food I was supposed to have." Izuku explained with a small shake of his head. "I had at least half my normal meal every day."

"Are you sure your delivery was supposed to be last week, Midoriya-kun?" Yoshimura asked.

"Yes, they're supposed to come in on the morning on the seventh of each month and today's the fifteenth." Izuku nodded just as there was a knock on the door.

"Touka-chan's here." Kaneki sighed, getting up to open the door and help her bring in the tray and bento.

"Do I need to start force feeding the brat?" Touka asked, eyes sending daggers into the back of Izuku's head, making him shudder and curl in on himself. "Because I'll gladly do it."

"No, it's not that kind of problem. It's a shipping problem." Kaneki told her.

"I'll look into it right now and leave Nishio in charge of the floor downstairs." Touka said after she gave Kaneki a good, long stare and switching her gaze to Izuku. "I'll be back shortly." And with that she left, closing the door behind her once she gave Kaneki the tray to take care of himself.

Izuku tried not to show it, but the second the bento was placed in front of him he began to salivate. He had to bite his tongue until a disgusting, metallic taste filled his mouth and overtook his senses. He tried not to swallow his own blood, knowing it'd most likely make him sick. Izuku almost didn't want to eat with Kaneki and Yoshimura there to watch.

"Hey, Izuku, if you'd like you can go to my apartment and eat your lunch there." Kaneki offered when he noticed Izuku hadn't moved to eat once he got the tray set on the small coffee table that sat in the center of the sitting area. "Here's my key and come on back when you're done, okay?"

Izuku nodded, jumping to his feet and swiping the key from Kaneki in a flash before disappearing out the door with a slam. Kaneki couldn't help but feel himself deflate with Izuku's attitude he still had towards eating with others around. He made a mental note to talk to Bakugou and Konsei before they went home to ask how he was doing in school, especially during lunch.

"He's still not used to this, is he?" Yoshimura asked, his voice quiet yet booming in the small, quiet space.

"I had hoped that he'd be at least a little bit comfortable by now…" Kaneki sighed, slumping into the armchair Izuku had once occupied moments ago. "At least he isn't doing what he did a few years ago." He added under his breath.

"What happened a few years ago?"

Kaneki bristled, head snapping into the old man's direction and gray eyes wide. He hadn't meant for that to be heard.

"Don't worry, I won't be mad." Yoshimura chuckled, making Kaneki laugh nervously while scratching at his left cheek, eyes shifting away.

"Well… he had been starving himself then. And somehow he got injured on accident by someone with a weird quirk while he was playing hide and seek with Bakugou and Konsei. To say he flipped is an understatement. I only found him because he ran right towards my direction without realizing it. Well… while the two of us argued, Bakugou had tripped and bloodied up his nose and Izuku almost went berserk. He didn't do anything, mostly because All Might just so happened to be nearby and stopped him from going too far… Izuku's pretty damn fast when he's starving and his ukaku out."

"I'm glad you were there though. Was there anything else that happened?"

"Well, I contacted Touka-chan before he snapped and she brought with her a bento. While Izuku was still unconscious, All Might went back to what he was doing and Touka brought Bakugou and Konsei here. Shortly after Izuku woke and took a nice bite out of me though he didn't ingest any of it." Kaneki continued with a light chuckle. "Shocked me, but I never did tell him why I tasted so gross. In the end I had to force feed him and we walked here when he was done eating. I told him my sob story about Hide and by the time his mother came over, it was decided he would be put on house arrest. Stayed with me…"

"Really now? Did you have any relapses?"

"Just one, but he managed to get Touka-chan before it got too bad. I honestly thought I terrified him to the point he couldn't sleep because for a few weeks he wasn't sleeping well, only for him to say he was trying to keep an eye on me and help me when we confronted him about the issue…" Kaneki answered, a sigh pulling at his lungs as he looked down to his hands, his permanent black nails digging into his skin out of habit. "He has the making of a great hero in him, but no one's been able to convince him he can. He's set on believing that there's no way he can be a hero."

"It'll take some time, don't worry. I'm sure someone or something will shine a light in Izuku's path and make him realize his true worth."

"Yeah…" Kaneki sighed again. "Anyway, he ended up staying with me during the school year to help his mom save money on train fare. He was adamant about his studies after that and got into junior high with Bakugou and Konsei, and finally stopped starving himself."

"Kaneki-kun… something's bothering you." Yoshimura noted as he saw how Kaneki fidgeted every second and refused to make eye contact while chewing on his bottom lip enough to break skin. Nails digging into his hand until flesh broke in an attempt to keep himself as calm as he possibly could.

"The reason why I initially wanted to talk to you in person was about …" Kaneki said, his body shuddering as memories flashed through his field of vision. His tongue darting out in an attempt to wet his dry lips but his mouth was the same. With quivering lips, a shaking jaw, and quick breaths he continued. "He's back, Yoshimura-san—crack—The agency I'm I-I-I'm I'm—crack—working undercover—snap—f-f-for asked me t-t-to stake his hideout—crack, snap—and try to bring him in. Got the m-m-ma-mission—crunch—this morning… but I c-can't do it. I-I-I-I c-ca-can't do it and I—"

"Kaneki!" Yoshimura said, his voice booming to get Kaneki's attention. He had been so wrapped up in his horrors that he didn't notice Yoshimura standing over him, hands holding his together and that they were already bleeding, the fingers on his right hand broken in several places and dislocated at the knuckles.

"I'll talk to the agency. It's clear that you haven't been able to recover completely, and I can understand why." Yoshimura said, voice calm as he hoped it'd calm Kaneki's nerves too. "And I suggest you take a week off of work and get some fresh air in the mountains. It'll help."

*#*#*

Izuku hadn't meant to slam the door when he left the office and bolted up the stairs. Knew that an apology was needed when he got back. He couldn't help his skin crawling when he reached Kaneki's apartment, unlocked the door, and rushed inside. Closing the door with a soft click this time instead of slamming it. After locking the handle and taking his shoes off, Izuku slowly made his way to the kitchen table to put down the bento. Red irises glaring at the offending contraption before he turned to get a fork from a drawer by the sink.

Kaneki's apartment, like Touka's, didn't have a stove. They didn't cook human meat because it broke down the components and nutrients they needed. Izuku could honestly care less that he knew that; but he had found out the hard way when he asked his mom near the beginning if she could cook it for him because he couldn't stand to see the blood and raw meat on his plate all the time. Turns out, not only does it break down, but it ruins the taste. He threw up after forcing himself to eat it.

Sighing, Izuku sat down at the table and took apart the bento to reveal his usual, stupid meal as a scowl graced his face. He had been able to hide his distaste with Bakugou and Konsei when he had lunch with them at school, and around his mother for his other meals, but when he was alone it was all he could do to make himself swallow each bite presented to him. With the possibility that he could seriously hurt other people he refused to starve himself like he used to. It still didn't change his mind about how he feels from doing it.

The meat was already cut into bite sized pieces, being it's a bento made for emergency purposes, so he didn't have to hear the sounds of a knife cutting the raw flesh. But he did have to listen to the sound of his fork stabbing it. The sound alone made his stomach churn. Izuku immediately abandoned the fork after one bite and got up to get a pair of chopsticks instead while throwing the fork in the sink. While he ate he couldn't help himself when he started thinking about the lives he was ruining. Kaneki and Yoshimura, Touka and everyone else at his elementary school have reassured him thousands of times that none of the meat was gathered from the slaughter of living humans, but from people that have died and donated their bodies to help those with ghoul-quirks so they can survive and live a relatively normal life.

 _What about this is fucking normal…_ Izuku thought to himself, eyes stinging and threatening to tear up as he robotically shoved his food into his mouth one piece at a time. Barely chewing so he could get done faster. He didn't care if he'd choke. Half the time he wished he did so he could just die already.

 _Why couldn't I have a variation of my parent's quirks?_ Izuku asked himself, the first red-tinted tear falling from his eyes as he tried to keep himself composed. Crying did nothing. Fixed nothing. It only made him feel useless and reminded himself that he was a crybaby. Bakugou didn't have to keep reminding him about it, looking in the mirror every morning was a reminder. Just like it was a reminder of how much of a monster he really was when black sclera and red irises and spider veins greeted him in every reflection.

When the last bite of food was shoved into his mouth, Izuku wasted no time in washing the bento, chopsticks, and fork he'd used to try and get rid of the smell. But no matter how much and how hard he scrubbed it wouldn't go away. Giving up, he dried everything and put the fork and chopsticks away before disappearing down the hallway and into the bathroom. He still had a tooth brush here in case he wasn't able to go home, so without hesitating, Izuku scrubbed his mouth to try and get rid of the taste of foreign blood until he bled himself. Coffee would have to wash away what's left of the disgusting taste in his throat. And with nothing else left to procrastinate, he left the bathroom the way it was when he got in there, grabbed the empty, clean bento, and left Kaneki's apartment. Using the key to lock the door just to make sure he actually had it.

Izuku took his time going downstairs. His stomach churning from eating his food and hardly chewing it. Practically shoving it down his throat from how fast he wanted it to be over with. In just a few minutes, which felt like it was hours too soon for Izuku, he got to the office door. Only he paused when his hand touched the cold metal.

He could smell blood. Kaneki's blood.

Izuku fought to keep himself from barging into the office when he heard someone speak. To try and see if he could eavesdrop, he quietly placed his ear against the door, his soul breaking as he heard his beloved sensei; the sanest out of all the adult ghoul-quirk users he knew, stumbled over his words. Every sound being forced out of his mouth in quick bursts of nerves, distress, and fear.

"He's back, Yoshimura-san—crack—The agency I'm I-I-I'm I'm—crack—working undercover—snap—f-f-for asked me t-t-to stake his hideout—crack, snap—and try to bring him in. Got the m-m-ma-mission—crunch—this morning… but I c-can't do it. I-I-I-I c-ca-can't do it and I—"

"Kaneki!" Yoshimura's voice boomed, making Izuku flinch away from the door and he stayed away. He shouldn't have heard those words. Shouldn't have heard his favorite teacher on the brink of breaking.

 _My problems are nothing compared to Kaneki-sensei's problems…_ Izuku thought, berating himself for being so selfish and self-centered because he hated his life all because of his quirk.

Just the words alone had him thinking back to when he got to Anteiku with Bakugou and Konsei. He had tried not to stare at Kaneki in fear that he was being rude, but the quick glances he got showed that his teacher looked tired. The black circles under his eyes, the way his skin was paler than usual, and the way he seemed jittery and almost didn't want to touch him as they went inside. He had ignored it all because he thought of only himself, just like he ignored how much his sensei shook when a hand was put on his shoulder when they first got into the office.

"Midoriya-kun, please go tell Nishio-kun that I need a bento and the first aid kit." A voice called out, and Izuku recognized it as Yoshimura, though he was shocked to have known Izuku was even in the hallway to begin with. He had made sure he was as quiet as possible, unless it was the empty bento, or Izuku made a noise without noticing.

He didn't stick around to find out and rushed downstairs, forcing himself to look composed despite his tear-stricken face as he walked through the door and to the front counter where Nishio stood, preparing an order of coffee and pastries.

"Nishio-san, Yo-Yoshimura-san needs a bento and the first aid kit." Izuku said, voice low so that not many people could hear his conversation.

"But there's a bento already in your hand." Nishio sighed, eyes darting from the coffee cup he was filling for a second before returning to focus on what's in front of him.

"It's for Kaneki-sensei."

"Shit." Nishio cursed under his breath. "I'll get it in a few, let me finish this order. Irimi, I need you to watch over shop. I shouldn't be long. Izuku, I'll take that and you can help take that to the table to the left of the entrance door."

"It's moments like this when I wish that Koma worked the same schedule I did." Irimi, a tall, slender woman with long black hair, said with an exasperated sigh. "But don't make the kid work when he shouldn't be. I'll take that."

And like that, Izuku's bento was taken from his hands and Irimi took the tray of coffee and cinnamon muffins from Nishio's hands before it was given to Izuku.

"So, Midoriya-kun, have you seen Touka-chan anywhere? She disappeared after she took the tray of coffee up to the office." Irimi asked when she walked back from the table she just served.

"She, uhm… had to make some phone calls. Somehow my delivery never made it last week." Izuku answered, no use in hiding anything from this woman and Izuku knew she was also a ghoul-quirk so he could find it calming to talk to someone else that wasn't Kaneki, Touka, or his two best friends about his problems.

"That's quite serious. I hope everything's figured out and fixed before it gets too bad. Was something going on that made it so you and your mom didn't notice the missing delivery?"

"Yeah, I was wallowing in self-pity and disgust because my attempt to help Konsei when he got attacked and lost an eye almost killed him… And I guess mom was too worried about me to notice." Izuku sighed with a small shrug. "Kacchan and Konsei-kun… well mostly Kacchan, barged into my room after school to knock some sense into me."

"Bakugou held back?"

"Not exactly… he blew my bedroom door off its hinges and into splinters."

"Now that sounds more like him." Irimi smirked. "Anyway, is there something you'd like to have? It'll be on the house."

Izuku shook his head as he placed his hands on the counter and climbed into a bar stool. "Touka made two pots of coffee and they're upstairs… I wanna give them time to help Kaneki-sensei before I go up there."

"Do you… wanna talk about what happened? I'll understand if you don't but sometimes talking helps."

"I… I don't know." Izuku sighed, eyes dropping from the tall woman to stare at the counter. "I had just gotten done with my lunch when I noticed the smell of Kaneki-sensei's blood. Heard him talking about working undercover and staking out someone's hide out when I could, literally, hear him breaking something on his body while he spoke. It… What happened to him Irimi-san?"

"Touka's going to kill those people, that's for sure." Irimi sighed under her breath, a hand lifting up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "And Yoshimura's going to raise hell."

"Did… did something bad happen to Kaneki-sensei?" Izuku asked, his voice low.

"Izuku!" A woman's voice called out when the bell chimed, signaling that a customer was walking into the café.

"Okaa-san!" Izuku called out happily when he recognized that it was his mother walking into the café as he turned at the sound of his name. "Did you have any trouble leaving work?"

"No, when I told my supervisor the problem they let me go because of how urgent it is." Inko nodded. "Hello Irimi-chan."

"Hi Midoriya-san. It'll be a few more minutes before the office is free, would you like something?"

"A sweet cream cappuccino sounds good." Inko smiled. "Thank you Irimi."

"Don't mention it." Irimi smiled right back and got to work on Inko's order as her and Izuku went and found a table.

"I already talked with Kaneki-sensei, and Yoshimura-san was here too, so they both know the situation." Izuku said the second they were in their seats.

"That's good sweetie."

"I also got a bento and ate about fifteen or so minutes ago so I probably won't be eating until breakfast." Izuku said, his eyes drifting down to the table. "And Touka-sensei is getting to the bottom of the problem as we speak so we should know some details soon."

"At least it was noticed before you went out of food for more than one meal." Inko sighed. "I should have kept a better eye on it."

"No… Okaa-san, I'm the one that should be sorry." Izuku sighed, shoulders sagging as his eyebrow furrowed. "I was selfish this last week and thought of only myself… I'm sorry."

"Don't be so down on yourself kiddo." Irimi's voice chirped as she set a small cup on the table in front of Inko. "Here's a sweet cream cappuccino for you."

"Thank you, Irimi-san." Inko smiled up at her.

"Oh, Nishio came back down and said they're ready for you two whenever you go up."

"We'll go on up, thanks again Irimi-san." Inko said, her smile never leaving her face. "Let's go Izuku-kun."

"Is Kaneki-sensei really alright Irimi-san?" Izuku asked, refusing to leave his seat as his mother while she held her cup of coffee.

"He's doing much better than a few minutes ago if that's what you're worried about. Besides, Touka-chan is in the office now."

A small smile graced Izuku's downcast face as he stood up. "Thanks Irimi-san, have a good day if you end up leaving before we do."

"Go on squirt." Irimi chuckled as the bell to the front door chimed and someone else walked into the establishment, only for the small smile she had herself to fall from her face. "Oh… it's you."

"Don't be so harsh, Irimi-chan." A not-so-sweet sweet voice said, making Izuku bristle and swiftly turn to see who it is.

"Tsukiyama-sensei!" Izuku squeaked, his body tense as his eyes drifted to the 'STAFF ONLY' door, hoping he could escape before conversation started. "I really can't talk so I'll see you around!" He added with a grimace in place of a smile and bolted up the stairs, his mom following right behind because she was confused by Izuku's attitude towards what he mentioned as a teacher.

"Hey twit, no running inside." Touka's voice echoed when he ran up the stairs.

"Tsukiyama-sensei…" Izuku huffed.

"Oh, then you're fine, and you're allowed to go sit with your friends now that your mom's here and we know of the situation if you'd like."

Izuku only shook his head no. "I wanna know myself why I didn't get that delivery too, Touka-sensei. Gotta learn this stuff myself too."

"It seems you're finally growing up." Touka smiled. "Alright, you can come in."

With no other words exchanged, even though Inko was still confused about the purple haired guy and Izuku running away from him, she kept the question to herself for another time. When they walked into the office, Yoshimura and Kaneki occupied the two armchairs, leaving Touka, Inko, and Izuku the couch. The bandages on Kaneki's right hand not going unnoticed as he walked by and sat in the middle of the couch.

"So, from what I've been able to find out, the delivery man ended up disappearing. And not just the man, but his entire truck along with him." Touka announced once the door was closed. She refused to sit because she wanted to get this done and over with. All so she could go on a man hunt.

"Then Midoriya-kun may not be the only one that has a missing shipment?" Yoshimura asked.

"No, I've started conversation with Yomo-san, he always told me we were the last ones on his route." Inko said with a small shake of her head.

"Wait, Yomo is your delivery man?" Kaneki asked, voice loud as he shot up from the couch and stared at Yoshimura instead of Inko for confirmation.

"I was not aware he was their delivery man. He went missing after his truck was hijacked. We're still looking for him." Yoshimura muttered, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "For now, you'll be getting your meals through a special delivery system. I know the perfect person for it too, since he's been looking for a different line of work for a little while."

"You're not suggesting Hide deliver, are you?" Kaneki asked, arms crossing as his weight shifted to one hip. "He's been talking non-stop about his upcoming vacation and he's planning on going to Beijing, China for three weeks to check out the Air Temples."

"You'll be his delivery man, unless Hide-kun wouldn't mind putting his vacation aside until we find someone to deliver to the Midoriya residence." Yoshimura suggested with a quirk in his eyebrow. "But I'm sure Hide would love to meet Midoriya-shounen at some point. He's mentioned that he's all you talk about sometimes."

"Ka-Kaneki-sensei!" Izuku whined.

"You did not need to bring that up!" Kaneki cried. "But fine, I'll talk to Hide and see if he wouldn't mind."

"Midoriya-kun would be his only customer so it won't be too stressful. And I'm hoping we find Yomo before long uninjured." Yoshimura assured.

"Alright…"

"Want me to find out why I wasn't told Yomo was his delivery man?" Touka asked, voice low because she feared she'd blow up in front of Izuku and Inko. "Ayato would love to help me out."

"I'll do that myself. It seems there needs to be a weeding in my company." Yoshimura said, shaking his head as he stood, walking to the door as he spoke, only to pause and turn to Kaneki. "Kaneki, remember what I said and try to take it easy, alright?"

Kaneki just nodded, eyes drifting to the floor as he twisted at his fingers when Yoshimura walked out the office. Trying hard to not break and dislocate them in front of the Midoriya's. He knew Izuku found out because of the smell, but he didn't want Inko to know how unstable he was at the moment. Feared she may not want Izuku near him because of it.

"Touka-chan, do you know where Benjo is?" Kaneki asked after the room became silent when Yoshimura left.

"It's his day off so he's most likely at home. Why do you need him?" Touka asked.

"It's for work… I need him to accompany me on an assignment I was given this morning."

"Wait! The one that… you can't Kaneki-sensei!" Izuku cried out, shooting off the couch to stand in front of Kaneki, hands pushing on the mans stomach lightly. His head low enough to hide his eyes behind his hair but not the few tears that stained his cheeks. "I know I shouldn't have but I accidentally heard some of your conversation without meaning to. If… If it scares you that much Kaneki-sensei, maybe you shouldn't do it."

"Izuku-kun, it's alright." Kaneki sighed, holding Izuku's hands in his own as he knelt in front of the boy. "Everything will be fine. I won't be facing the problem that's going to scare me, I'll be somewhere else in the area looking for Yomo. Which reminds me, I need Hinami-chan also. She has a better nose than either Benjo or I do." He adds with a glance up to Touka.

"I'll contact them both for you, and if you want to call Yoshimura before it's too late, do so now." Touka sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to change his mind. "And I'm going with you so you don't do something stupid."

Kaneki couldn't help but smile weakly at Touka, knowing she was most likely right since he had a habit of doing more than he's supposed to. And with that, the four of them filed out of the office and Kaneki promising to bring Izuku's mom a couple bento's for tomorrow until either himself or Hide could get to the house and make the delivery. Kaneki also mentioned that Izuku will now receive weekly deliveries instead of once a month, now that he's at a point that he needs to eat three times a day instead of breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner.

Izuku couldn't help the scowl on his face at hearing his new meal schedule but nodded anyway. Kaneki didn't miss it, though, and patted Izuku's head since he understood his struggles. In the end, Kaneki vowed to talk to Izuku before his mission and tell him about most of those troubles without going into too much detail. And since Izuku was already in the vicinity, he promised Inko that Izuku would be fine staying with him for the night. His excuse being that he wanted to talk to Izuku before he left for his mission and, reluctantly, Inko let Izuku stay at Kaneki's place with a promise to come see him after her morning shift.

It had become much darker than any of them anticipated when they left. Izuku didn't even get a chance to study with Bakugou or Konsei and made a promise that they could study tomorrow since they didn't have school the next day. Bakugou grumbled, but understood and Konsei said he had morning training and would be there in the afternoon. When Izuku shrieked about the fact that Konsei was being made to train with his injury still healing, Konsei told him that it was meditation training with his air manipulating cousin. Said that his dad backed off considerably after the accident and even apologized for his behavior

Heaving a sigh, Izuku hugged both his friends before hugging his mom and the three of them left. Even though Izuku knew that his stay wouldn't be full of excitement the whole time, he was still happy he was spending time with his sensei once again. He missed those days where he could talk to Kaneki whenever he needed trouble and the man would only be a few feet away instead of a phone call. Izuku always stumbled over his words or couldn't get himself to talk about his problems with Kaneki over phone whenever he even got himself to make the call. That in itself was hard enough for him.

Kaneki had only an hour before he had to get to the meeting sight with Touka, Benjo, and Hinami, but he made sure that Izuku had a bento and sat with him at the table while the young man ate. Understanding that he may not eat the whole meal because he had something not so many hours before. But he managed to tell Izuku that while he was young and just starting in the hero business, he had been kidnapped. Went missing for about three months and was held captive under an organization called Aogiri Tree that no longer exists. He decided to tell Izuku that while he was held captive, he was put through an immense amount of torture at the expense of the other's joy in inflicting pain and not for information. Had been starved the entire time and only fed the bare minimum to help heal his injuries just enough for his torture to begin again. He left out the part about other kinds of torture he had been through, didn't think the young man would be able to listen to that part and keep sane. Didn't bring up any names, real or undercover. He didn't want Izuku to start doing research and come to him with questions to dig deeper into what happened.

That night Izuku couldn't sleep, his worry so strong that he stayed up all night studying and pacing the apartment until morning when Kaneki made it back in one peace, his face solemn and the bags under his eyes more present than before and his skin paler. He assured Izuku that he was just tired and told him he had found Yomo, his hunches that the delivery man-slash-friend was at the hide out seemed to be correct and they had managed to get him to a special hospital that helps those with ghoul quirks. He had to explain to Izuku that he didn't do anything rash. Only mentioned that the base had been abandoned a couple of hours before they got there so nothing bad had happened.

Izuku couldn't help but hug Kaneki at the news and cried when he heard that Yomo was there and getting better. They both went to bed in better moods then during the long night. Izuku never felt closer to his sensei than before that night and he was proud that Kaneki felt he could trust him enough to talk to him about anything.

* * *

 **End note: This was originally going to be much,** _ **much**_ **longer than this, but I ended up needing it split so I'm ending the story here. The next chapter will officially start with the anime/manga! Things will be different, but some things will be the same, just to let everyone know. I hope everyone likes this chapter! Please tell me if I am putting more dialogue than prose. I've noticed that this chapter has a LOT more dialogue than its previous chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I have FINALLY reached the point where I can include what's actually in the shows! I'm so excited I couldn't wait to finish the chapter and share it with you all. The chapters from here on will include at least 2 and at most 5 episodes per chapter if I can get it all to fit properly. There's a part I actually want to start writing right now but that isn't even aired yet. I'm so giddy I can't hold my excitement.**

 **Anyway, here's the chapter and I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6: What it Takes to be a Hero

Over the next two years, Izuku tried his best to be there for Kaneki whenever he could. Never letting his grades falter and eventually keeping up with both Bakugou and Konsei. Each weekend the boys found themselves at Anteiku with Hitoshi as a study group while they all tried to get ready for high school entrance exams. Bakugou and Konsei were going to Yuuei without hesitation, just like Hitoshi, but Izuku still had reservations on what high school he wanted to attend. Nothing Konsei, Bakugou, or Hitoshi said would change Izuku's mind.

After school one day, Izuku left school faster than Bakugou and Konsei, saying he wanted to be alone since they were ten months away from high school entrance exams and it tore himself on the inside that he couldn't make up his mind. He had half a thought to go see Kaneki about where he should go, but after debating with himself, he came to the conclusion that Kaneki would tell him to go to Yuuei without a second thought.

Izuku wanted to go to Yuuei with every bone in his entire being. But it was a place where he didn't feel like he belonged, since he couldn't—refused—to see himself as a professional hero.

 _If only I had a different quirk._ Izuku thought to himself as he walked down a small hill to walk under an overpass. His foot kicking a small rock out of his way as his hands gripped the Hero Analysis No 13 notebook until the pages crinkled and bent. He may have reservations on himself being a hero, but he couldn't help himself going to every villain fight he could to take notes on his favorite heroes. Just that morning he saw the debut of Mt. Lady and how she ruined Kamui Wood's chance at getting the villain with his signature move.

The memory of that morning made a small smile spread on his lips but fall when he remembered the train station was out of commission and he couldn't go home unless he walked the thirty-minute trek home. He just couldn't make it to Anteiku with Bakugou and Konsei to make their study group with Hitoshi like promised the weekend before.

"Well well, you look like a good place to hide." A deep voice chuckled behind Izuku, making him stop in his tracks, shoulders hunched as he slowly turned to see who's there.

A gasp escaped Izuku's throat when he saw what looked like a mutant-class villain made of sludge come up out of the sewer. It towered over him easily as he quaked in his shoes, the notebook falling from his hands instantly. Before he could hightail it out of the overpass, the sludge monster went after him from all sides, dragging him up off the ground as parts of the villain's body shoved itself down his throat before a scream for help could alert anybody nearby he was in trouble.

"Yes! Yes! You're perfect! Don't worry, this'll only hurt for about forty-five more seconds." The sludge villain laughed, its body wrapping around Izuku's kicking legs and laughing at his vain attempts to pull him out of his mouth.

Suddenly, Izuku's eyes turned black, his irises shining a blood red seconds before his koukaku burst from between his shoulders in the shape of what looked like a pair of flower petals. His rinkaku, in the shape of what resembled a pair of spiked spines (Note: Hinami's rinkaku and koukaku) burst from his lower back.

The sudden change surprised the sludge villain and he nearly dropped Izuku to the ground. The part of his body trying to suffocate Izuku disappearing to try and shield itself from the attack.

Izuku screamed the second his mouth was free, eyes shut tight as his koukaku shrank and his black ukaku burst from his shoulders and shot out crystals to attack. He was so focused on getting himself free that he didn't realize a voice was calling out to him, not until a sudden shift in air pressure sent the sludge villain out of the underpass and himself against the wall. To protect himself from possibly another attacker, his koukaku petals reemerged from his shoulders and put him in a protective cocoon.

"Young lad, are you injured at all?" A familiar voice asked, muffled because of his koukaku. But Izuku knew this voice. He heard it thousands of times multiple times a day through YouTube, news reports, interviews, documentaries.

With a bit of hesitation, his koukaku retracted just enough to uncover himself yet stay ready in case it was needed. Izuku beamed when he saw the face of his number one hero; All Might standing above him. Scratch marks covering the man's arms, chest, and face.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry if I frightened you. I'm also sorry you got caught up in my work with that villain I'd been chasing down all day." All Might said, his large hands helping Izuku up to his feet since the boy was still beaming, eyes wide, and jaw slack.

"A-A-Al-All M-M-Ma-Might!" Izuku screeched just as his eyes darted to the slight cuts that littered his hero's upper body and paled. "Oh my God, did I do that to you? I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright young man. You need not worry! You did great fighting off that villain" All Might smiled, his big smile growing wider when he noticed the boy was uninjured. " _Holy shit_!" He added at the end in English.

"What…" Izuku was trying to ask, only to follow All Might's line of sight and realize that the sludge villain was, yet again, missing.

"I was so concerned with you I forgot to confine the villain!" All Might said, shoulders hunched forward. "But don't fret young man, I'll find him again! Now please make it home safely without looking for trouble."

And with that, All Might disappeared in a flash, but not fast enough for Izuku to latch on to his left leg when he paused to launch himself into the air and holding on for dear life with the aid of his rinkaku.

Quickly, All Might grabbed the top of Izuku's backpack and the collar of his jacket to make sure he didn't slip the moment he noticed the extra weight on his leg. He'd have to land carefully so he wouldn't hurt the boy, but he couldn't help but think he's seen him from somewhere before. It wasn't hard to forget the freckles on Izuku's face or the fact that his hair was green. The black sclera and red irises were indicating factors too, along with that shining, black pair of wings that were on his back.

A few moments later, All Might lands on the roof of a tall building several blocks away from the underpass. It took a moment for Izuku to let himself get peeled off All Might's leg, but eventually realized they were on solid footing before he could get himself to put away his rinkaku, his black sclera and red irises remaining.

"So, the people in this building should be able to help you." All Might said with a smile. "I must be off!"'

"Wait!" Izuku pleaded. "I… I need to know s-something b-b-before you go."

"I can't son, that—" All Might started saying, only for Izuku to not hear him and continue talking.

"I've… looked up to you for a long time, and it was my dream to be a great hero like you when I was younger… but…" Izuku had started, and now his words were failing him, his confidence shriveling the longer he took to get his question out. "But I… Kaneki-sensei always told me I had the makings of being a hero, along with Kacchan and Konsei-kun. It's just… how can I be a hero if I have a ghoul quirk?"

All Might just blinked at the boy, realization and recognition of this child becoming apparent at the mention of 'Kaneki' and it made his body relax slightly.

"You're… that kid I stopped some years ago." All Might mutters, but Izuku heard every word he said, making him tilt his head in confusion. "You were charging at this young lad that had a bleeding nose."

"Wh-What? N-No. Kaneki-sensei stopped me… and Touka-sensei too… they… they would've." Izuku rambled, his hands combing through his hair and gripping at the strands as he sunk into a low squat. "They would have told me."

"I… am sorry, but they might not have told you because of how much you look up to me. Don't take their decision and make something bad out of it okay?" All Might sighed and moved to step forward, but his body froze and smoke started lifting from his body in several places. _Shit. Shit. Shit!_ All Might screamed in his head in English.

"I… guess you're right." Izuku ends up agreeing as he slowly stands. He went to ask another question but suddenly a cloud erupted from where All Might once stood moments ago.

Confused, Izuku stared at the area, hoping that the light breeze that brushed around them would clear the cloud faster. His sense of smell alerting Izuku that All Might was still there so his idea of All Might taking off was out of the question. It was only when the smoke cleared that Izuku felt that his sense of smell was wrong, but it was the same smell he's grown accustomed to since he clung to the bigger man and held on for dear life when they were airborne.

Izuku felt his jaw drop at the sight of this skeleton man, blood dripping from his lips and down his chin. Emaciated beyond repair… stood his childhood hero; All Might.

"I trust that you're sense of smell is as strong as ever?" All Might asked. When Izuku nodded, the skeleton man sank to the floor of the roof and leaned back against the low barrier. All Might and Izuku talked about the fight that caused him to be in this state, and All Might managed to get the boy to promise to never tell about his secret identity. The two went deep into conversation, but once All Might brought up Izuku's question, the boy felt—almost—everything inside him shatter.

"I'm sorry lad, but in order to protect people, they have to be able to trust you. Those with the ghoul-quirk aren't trusted by everybody, despite the fact that Yoshimura-san has done everything to give them equal rights. It's impossible to be a hero… but, the police and detectives would love to have someone with your sense of smell help them find murderers and kidnap victims." All Might said, not stopping in the verbal onslaught towards the boy's already cracked dreams of being a hero, knowing he was taking a sledge hammer to its cracked surface and making it shatter. He said no more as he turned around and went through the door and down the stairs. All Might only paused when he heard a distant explosion, his thoughts now falling on the sludge villain and how it's possible it's the cause of those explosions. He took off at a run the rest of the way down to the ground floor as fast as his abused body would let him.

*#*#*

Izuku didn't know what to do, his body moved slow, but it moved out of habit. He had tried telling himself that he should give up on making his notebooks on 'Hero Analyses' but found that his body led him to the source of the explosions without even thinking. He would have turned and walked away from the scene, but a familiar scent wafted up his nose and he couldn't help but stare at the sludge monster with wide, terrified eyes.

"Kacchan!" Izuku whispered in horror as he covered his mouth.

There were people whispering around him, asking why the hero's weren't doing anything to save the boy, but Izuku had drowned them out as he thought of ways to get into the fight. He figured that Konsei was either not there or was knocked unconscious. He focused on the first, since he knew Konsei probably went home on the train when Bakugou probably wanted to spend time at the arcade that was nearby. It was the only reason Bakugou would be around here, Izuku reasoned, and his eyes darted towards the hanging post that leaned over the sludge monster.

With a plan in his mind, Izuku moved. Darting out of the crowd and past the police barriers before anyone could stop him as he activated his ukaku and his rinkaku; a black pair of wings and a spiked spine shooting out of his back. The left side of his rinkaku shot forward to the post, wrapping around it and he used that to launch himself towards the monster. He could hear people yelling behind him, but he decided to ignore their words as his right wing crystalized and he landed on the sludge monsters' side, his wing burying deep into its body as his rinkaku disappeared and changed into his usual tentacle-like tails that latched themselves around Bakugou's body and pried him free.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't try to eat you." Izuku demanded, his voice low and foreign to even himself as Bakugou coughed and choked on the air he tried to get into his abused lungs. Words failing even himself. "Because I will if you don't surrender. You've attacked me once before and I know where you bleed."

At his words, the mutant-class villain froze, his one eye staring into Izuku's black and red ones and realized that the child meant every word he said. But that didn't stop him from trying to attack Izuku from behind. He may be a body of sludge, but he knew how to harden himself into a weapon, and he would have proved it too hadn't a large hand hadn't pulled Izuku away at the same time air pressure surrounded everyone, causing the sludge villain to scatter in the area and rain started falling.

"That's All Might!" Someone in the crowd screamed.

"He caused rain with a single punch!" Another cried out.

All Might ignored the crowd for a few moments as he put Izuku down, who then released Bakugou. He was going to have a long talk with this child when they were alone, but a voice from the crowd called out the boy's names and rushed forward.

"Izuku! Bakugou!" A familiar voice called out again as Izuku's ukaku and rinkaku disappeared in a mist of black and red. His eyes remained with their black sclera and red irises, though, and this didn't escape Bakugou's keen sense of 'danger.'

"Kaneki-san!" Bakugou called out. "I think we need a bento, he used his abilities more than once today."

"What?" Kaneki asked as he reached the three, his eyes watching Izuku closely since the boy appeared to be frozen in place and looking down at the ground.

"Yes, he'd been attacked by the same villain roughly an hour ago and fended him off until I managed to finish it off. But while I was making sure he was okay, the villain got away." All Might told them with a small nod and a lift of his shoulders. He tried to keep his smile on his face, but knew how serious the situation was.

"Izuku, look at me please." Kaneki asked as he knelt next to him, hands on his shoulders as he turned Izuku to face him. Izuku refused to look at him for a moment until his eyes shifted and he finally looked at him, his right arm raising to his mouth only to bite his thumb.

Izuku didn't trust himself to talk, not right now, and keep his sanity in front of all these people. He couldn't get himself to tell Bakugou that he was alright and not hungry. In fact, he never felt better, but it was the words he spoke to the villain that made his skin crawl and his stomach drop. Why had he said those things? Why did he threaten someone with the very thing he hated about himself? Why did he even…

"Okay, there's a branch of Anteiku nearby, why don't we go there and get you a bento? Calm down from what happened." Kaneki offered, glad when Izuku nodded.

"Let's go Deku." Bakugou sighed, grabbing Izuku by his shredded school uniform and followed Kaneki through the crowd, ignoring the reporters that demanded answers. His only goal was to keep the other heroes off of his friend to berate and degrade him for doing what they couldn't do. He could see the look on their faces as they walked by, their words stilling on their tongues either by Kaneki and his glares or the fact that Izuku was chewing on his thumb now to keep himself occupied until they got to their destination. He didn't know, but he didn't care.

When they got to the Anteiku branch, Kaneki led them into the back where the break room was and pulled a bento from a large fridge on the shelf labeled EMERGENCY BENTO while Bakugou and Izuku occupied two chairs at the table.

"Izuku, please, here's a bento. Please eat while I clean the blood up, okay?" Kaneki said as he walked over and placed the bento in front of him. Izuku remained silent as he lowered his hand and opened the bento with his non-injured one and slowly ate each piece. He still didn't trust himself to talk, so he remained silent and hoped Bakugou would talk for him.

"I think Izuku terrified himself with what he told the sludge creep." Bakugou sighed while Kaneki went to the sink and grabbed a clean wash cloth, grabbing a small bowl and filled it with cold water before sitting in the chair on the other side of Izuku. "It kinda put me on edge too because of how he said it."

"What'd… you say Izuku?" Kaneki asked as he cleaned up Izuku's hand.

"I asked it if he wanted me to eat him if he didn't surrender." Izuku answered bluntly between bites. "That's the gist of it anyway."

Kaneki only blinked at him before looking to Bakugou for confirmation, only sighing when the dirty-blonde nodded.

"It's okay though, because you were most likely saying something to get him to put down his guard." Kaneki reasoned, but Izuku pulled his now clean hand away, cracking his thumb after it had healed since he chewed on it hard enough to crack the bone.

"I meant it, Kaneki-sensei… I may not want to believe it, but I meant every word I told that thing." Izuku sighed, pushing away the bento once he ate half of it. Not sure if he could stomach more than that. "Out of what happened… that's something I do regret."

"Deku, you were amazing!" Bakugou howled. "You were the _only_ one that managed to do _anything_ against that piece of shit! The heroes were too worried about getting hurt to even try, so I'm hoping your effort drilled something into their ego-ridden skulls or I'll blow them sky high for you."

"Ka-Kacchan, you can't do that." Izuku cried out, only earning a small smile from his best friend.

"You're finally back to yourself. Anyway, thanks Kaneki-san, but we need to head home before our mother's go on a rampage. Well… mine would, because I'm sure they've seen the news already." Bakugou sighed.

"Alright, be careful out there and Izuku, stop by the main branch sometime this weekend. I'd like to talk to you about some things, if you don't mind." Kaneki said with a small smile and a small nod. "I think it's about time I tell you this anyway, how does Saturday after homeroom sound? You can bring your friends and hang out after we're done."

"Sure thing Kaneki-sensei." Izuku beams, the color back on his face as he waves and follows Bakugou out of the coffee shop.

The small smile slipped form Kaneki's face once the boys were gone, his gray eyes downcast as he put the lid back on the bento and let it sit in front of him on the table. His thoughts going over what happened today and let a long sigh pull from his lungs. From what The boys said about Izuku's behavior towards the villain he fought, he worried that something may have happened to make him mad. No, mad was not the word for it, Izuku had to be livid when he fought that villain for a second time. He'd have to ask All Might what transpired the first time whenever he got the chance to see the hero again.

*#*#*

"Kacchan… I'll be home later, I want to walk off some of my nerves before I face Okaa-san." Izuku muttered as he stopped walking a few blocks away from their shared apartment.

"You sure?" Bakugou asked as he stopped too and glanced at his shorter friend.

"Yeah… and I'll be fine, may stop at the beach and come back" Izuku said with a small nod. "I'll stop by after Okaa-san lectures me on safety and all that jazz."

"Email me instead, I'm thinking mine would lock me in my room for the rest of the day." Bakugou sighed. "See ya later, Deku."

"Bye Kacchan." Izuku waves as his best friend walks off towards home. Izuku had tried to keep his mood up around Bakugou, but he knew that the other saw how much of a fake he was being and decided not to bring it up.

With a sigh, Izuku turns around to walk to the beach, but is suddenly stopped when someone rushes and skids to a stop in front of him, only to blink when it's none other than All Might himself.

All Might, with a smile, laughed his signature laugh and went to say his famous line, but his form shrank into the skeleton form and he coughed up blood from being in his hero form too long.

"Crap." All Might coughed in English before he turned his attention towards Izuku.

"Yes, All Might?" Izuku asked, unable to find joy in seeing his childhood hero at the moment from the events that happened earlier. "Weren't you talking to reporters a few moments ago?"

"I managed to escape them." All Might chuckled as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned up the blood on his lips and chin. "Besides, I needed to talk to you."

"What for?" Izuku asked as his eyebrows furrowed and his head tilted to the side.

"Well, for starters, I must apologize for what I told you earlier on the rooftop. I was completely out of line and forgot one of the most basic things a hero needs." All Might explained. "You have every making of being a great hero, young man. And you proved that when you saved your friend. A hero must be able to sacrifice his own safety to ensure everyone else has it, and you threw away your own safety to stop that villain. You did what those pro-heroes could not, and that makes you a hero."

"That's… great and everything…" Izuku said, his gaze lowering to the ground as he kicked a small rock away from him. "But what kind of hero would I be if I threaten to eat the villain just so they'd stop long enough for someone else to finish the job?"

"You remind me of another young lad I once talked to about ten years ago. He was afraid of being a hero only because of what had happened to him while he was busy with his… I'll say mission. Anyway, it's not my place to tell you his story, but I will say this; everyone that has the heart, determination, and love of people and puts them above himself has the right to become a hero." All Might said with a scratch of his chin and a grin on his sunken face. "And he had a ghoul-quirk also."

"R-Really?" Izuku beamed, tears welling up in his eyes as All Might's words started to get to him.

"Indeed." All Might smiled genuinely. "And I really do mean it, young man, that the things I told you on that roof were irresponsible and downright hateful, so please, don't take them to heart. I… hate to admit this but, you helped me remember what being a hero is all about."

Izuku couldn't speak as he nodded frantically.

"Which goes to saying that, after years of searching, I've finally found a suitor! Someone to pass my torch onto, and that is you."

"Haa?"

"Yes, I'll be passing my quirk, One For All, down to you." All Might explained. "My quirk, it's a culmination of power passed down from one person to the next. There's all kinds of quirks, young man, but not many that can be passed down onto others that aren't in the direct family."

"Why me?"

"Because… when I look into your eyes, I remember a younger version of myself." All Might tells him as he crosses his arms. "And may I have the name of my successor?"

"Mi-Mi-Midoriya Izuku." He stammered, his brain still trying to process what he's learned in the last ten minutes.

"So, Midoriya-shounen, meet me at the beach tomorrow at four in the morning and we'll start your training! And please, keep everything I've told you a secret. Very select few know about the existence of my quirk and for now I want to keep it that way."

Izuku didn't speak, but he nodded his head fast.

"Good, now take it easy, you still look a little pale from earlier." All Might says with a small wave before walking off towards downtown.

Izuku, beaming, ran home and hugged his mom, then got a lecture about throwing himself into danger, but he didn't mind. He let her berate him for his choice in saving Bakugou because she knew he'd have done so whether he was allowed or not, he knew she was just happy he came home alive and unhurt.

*#*#*

"Welcome to Anteiku, how may I take your order?" Touka smiled as she looked to the new customer, a tall blonde that looked like a skeleton. But with one sniff she was able to realize who he was.

"I'll take a small green tea with soy milk please." He huffed before coughing lightly into a handkerchief. "And I was wondering if someone by the name of Kaneki was here."

"He's upstairs in his apartment. I can see if he wouldn't mind you coming up for a short visit." Touka answered with a small smile. "I remember you, by the way."

"I figured, your sense of smell is just as keen as Midoriya-shounen." He chuckled lightly under his breath.

"I heard you helped him and Bakugou today. We're grateful that you were there, really." Touka whispered even though there was only two other customers in the shop at the moment, but Hinami was laughing with her friends loud enough to hide her whisper from others. "I saw a lot of it on T.V."

"I'm thinking about having a lecture with the current heroes in this area, it was ridiculous." All Might muttered under his breath.

"Here's your tea sir, I'll be right back." Touka smiled at normal tone before side stepping to the phone and dialed Kaneki's apartment. Her conversation was short, but she was able to get a great response from Kaneki and hung up smiling.

"He'll be glad to have a visit from you. I didn't mention who it was of course, but he's on the fourth floor, first apartment on the right." Touka tells All Might.

"Thank you miss." He smiled, and was shown behind the STAFF ONLY door, then he made the trek up the stairs to the fourth floor.

It took him longer than he expected, and he was somewhat winded by the time he got to the top of the stairs. After a short break to catch his breath, All Might walked the rest of the way to his destination and knocked softly on the door.

"Coming!" Came Kaneki's voice from the other side as shuffling, a grunt, and something falling over could be heard from the other side. When the door opened, Kaneki was shocked to see that it was the person he was trying to get a hold of. "Toshinori! I was just trying to get a hold of you, but no one could help me."

"I'm sorry, I was stuck with the press and then I had a short talk with Midoriya-shounen about some things I kind of still regret but took care of." Toshinori laughed lightly as he was invited inside and slid his shoes off, sliding his feet into guest slippers. Before the two continued talking, Kaneki led him to the living room and they sat on the small couch together.

"I figured he was… more than just mad when he faced that villain. I thought it had been because the villain was after his best friend." Kaneki admitted.

"Well, I think I had some help in that." Toshinori sighed, explaining what had transpired on the roof with Izuku and how he regrets saying what he did. He could tell that Kaneki was disappointed in his choice of words, but it went away as he explained that he talked with Izuku after he escaped from the press and not only apologized, but basically announced to a middle school boy that he'd be the successor to his quirk and title.

"I'm surprised, Toshinori, that you chose Izuku to be that out of all the people you've seen so far in files." Kaneki mused.

"Well, there's things you learn only by being with someone in person. Not everything on paper is truth, and besides, he'd make a greater hero than I ever was if we can help him along." Toshinori admits with raised eyebrows. "So, you said you were looking for me? May I ask what for?"

"I… wanted to talk to you about Izuku, but you pretty much did more than I could have." Kaneki sighed. "Besides, since you said you're going to be training him so he can be a better vessel for your quirk, you'll need me to provide extra meals. I'll have to talk to Yoshimura-san about giving Izuku an increase in meals because of his routine changing, but he'll accept. He has a soft spot for Izuku anyway, not just because he's a source quirk."

"Wait, he's a what?" Toshinori balked, almost spitting his tea everywhere as he was taking cautious sips because it was still hot.

"Yes, Izuku is one of those random source quirks for the ghoul quirk. It's one of the reasons why he was so adamant in believing he couldn't be a hero. Took years to get him used to his new life-style and to accept himself. We've had many times where he'd try to starve himself to death so…"

"I just so happened to have stopped him before he went berserk?" Toshinori asked.

"Yeah."

"I told him about that, mostly because it was an accident and I was thinking out loud, but he didn't look like it bothered him much." He admits.

"Oh… well, I was planning on talking to Izuku about myself a bit more." Kaneki sighed. "You said you're starting his training tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I asked of him to meet me at the beach near his home at four in the morning."

"That's extremely early, even for him." Kaneki whistled. "But he'll do it. I'll meet you two there as well with some bento because he'll need it."

"Do you want to approve his training regime before I give it to him?" Toshinori asked, worried that what he had planned may not work because of Izuku's quirk and his lack of being trained to exhaustion.

"I'll need to show Yoshimura, but I can do that tomorrow at normal hours. He'll let me know his answer before Izuku leaves school." Kaneki said with a small smile. "Either way, he'll do something to make himself work much harder than you ask of him."

"From what you've told me already, I believe you." Toshinori smiled.

* * *

 **I feel ashamed that it took me this long to update, but I've had a lot of things happen since I last updated in my personal life and it took me a while to find the will to come back to some of my writing. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope it isn't too short for you all.**


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